


Syrup is still syrup in a sippy cup.

by BeastGirl2k14



Category: Descendants (2015), The Isle of the Lost - Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: Adventure, F/F, F/M, Friends kissing each other and then not talking about what the hell that means, Gen, Greek Mythos, Greek gods, M/M, More tags to be added as we go, Multi, Other, Quests, there will probably be a mature warning on this fic as more chapters are added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-12
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-05-01 00:31:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 77,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5185379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeastGirl2k14/pseuds/BeastGirl2k14
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Creepy messages from creepy Gods, attacks from an assortment of beasts and baddies, connections to the past, implications of the future, an adventure straight out of Greek Mythos and a lot of complicated emotional bullshit. What could go wrong?</p><p>(or: The Core Four and a few brave friends try not to die on an adventure that seems to be a little more about hearts than riches and glory.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Blood still stains when the sheets are washed.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is just a little test run to get me back into writing and try writing for the characters. I hope you all enjoy this! It's kind of sappy and fluffy for the most part. I haven't edited this yet, so sorry if something sounds like I wrote it at 4 am. (i did.)

Bright, morning sunlight filtered through thin white gossamer curtains draped delicately in front of grand mahogany paned windows, blazing dusty trails through the air and across two sleeping forms curled up beneath a fluffy royal blue comforter.

Pale emerald eyes watched as a beam of light slowly crept closer and closer to the pillow in front of them like a spotlight in slowmotion. 

A deep scarlet reached to meet the ribbon of gold, racing toward it across the silky white fabric of the pillowcase, soaking into the threads like liquid rose petals.

Mal waited to move until they met, the dark rouge exploding into a bright crimson upon contact with the blaze of sunlight. She turned her head and almost smashed her nose directly into Evie's cheek. Mal settled back into the pillow, letting the lethargy of an early weekend morning settle back into her bones. Mal's eyes watched Evie's face, her peaceful expression, the slow, steady way she breathed, much the same way she had watched the beams of sunlight flow into their shared bedroom and toward them for the past ten minutes. (Twelve and a half but who was counting.) (Mal was.)

Mal had almost memorized the way Evie wakes up. She was always awake long before her or Carlos or Jay. Many sleepovers, on the Isle and here in Auradon had given Mal countless opportunities to learn about her friend's little sleeping quirks and eccentricities. Back on the Isle, she'd convinced herself it was because she may be able to use it against them some day, if that time ever came. But here, she had to admit to herself (and no one else, ever.) that it was really because she cared about them. Truly. She loved them. She loved the way Carlos murmured in his sleep and how easily he was soothed when he was having a nightmare. She loved the way Jay's tough boy facade completely melted away when he was asleep. He'd wrap himself tightly in a blanket, but one way or another, he'd end up cuddled up against one of them. Mal loved the boys. She'd never tell them without significant provocation, but she did.

But Evie, Evie was her favourite person to watch, awake or asleep. There was something about her that enraptured Mal. She was one of the few things that could keep Mal's attention. Another thing she'd never admit out loud. (Mostly to avoid sounding creepy or anything but vaguely indifferent.) Evie always wakes up in this rapid succession of stages that left Mal absolutely mesmerized. Her eyes traced Evie's sleeping face until she saw it begin, just as the sunlight from outside had begun trickling over her shoulders, spilling into the dark blue waves of her hair flowing around her gorgeous face. It started in her eyebrows, like it always did. Mal watched intently as the space between them creased, relaxing moments later. Mal let all of the air out of her lungs with one slow sigh as the muscles in Evie's jaw flexed. Finally, finally, her eyelashes fluttered open and her rich brown eyes met Mal's transfixed gaze.

"Mal?" Her voice was even raspier than usual, grogginess laced into every letter that passed through her lips, and the sound made Mal smile. "Mal, you're bleeding on my pillows again."

"Sorry." Mal said simply, her voice just as sleep ridden.

"Your nose is bleeding a lot." Evie stated, her eyes flickering down Mal's face, taking in her delicate features, the only thing delicate about her. Evie's eyebrows twitched toward each other again briefly. Mal's pink lips spread into another slow smile.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Evie's voice came out almost defensive this time as her fingers emerged from underneath the downy comforter to wipe the bright rivulet of blood away from Mal's lips. Her warm eyes finally met Mal's again as she waited for an answer.

"I don't know. I like you sometimes." Mal said with that 'no-big-deal-whatever.' tone in her voice. The same one she'd spent years perfecting. She resisted the urge to capture Evie's fingers in her mouth and suck off the red smear of blood Evie's eyes had flickered back down to.

"Well, stop it for a second and go wash the blood off your face. It's not good for your skin or my pillowcase." Evie replied through the bright smile that had taken over her mouth. Mal returned the smile as soon as Evie met her gaze again.

"Fine." Mal slipped out from beneath the covers and planted her feet on the ground with one fluid motion. She regretted it almost immediately. There was a reason she'd stayed beneath the covers rather than getting up as soon as she'd awoken. (And no, it wasn't just to watch Evie.) There was a reason she'd been sleeping underneath such a thick blanket. It was the same reason, (or excuse.) she'd used to justify sleeping in Evie's bed with her for the past week and a half.

Winter had finally come to Auradon, and it had come with a ferocity Mal could admire.

Mal had kicked her socks off sometime last night, sometime in between burying her face in Evie's hair and letting Evie wrap her arms around her. All to stay warm, of course. Now her toes were feeling Winter's brutality once again as they became acquainted with the hardwood floor of their bedroom. Fairy Godmother had been promising to have the central heating in student lodging fixed "Soon! Very soon!" for the past two weeks. Mal had a feeling that Mal and Evie were more likely to willingly tell Jay that he was the coolest, smartest guy they'd ever met before Fairy Godmother was ever punctual with maintenance. (Sure, sometimes Jay was the coolest, smartest guy they'd ever met, but was she ever going to say that to his face? No.)

"Cold?" Evie giggled from her haven of warmth behind Mal. Mal could just imagine the smirk gracing Evie's lips at that moment.

"Just a little chilly." Mal replied through clenched teeth. She trudged her way into their bathroom, flicking the light on with jerky movements. She avoided touching the porcelain of the sink as she peered into the pristine mirror above it. Blood, dried and fresh, made a ruby red trail across her pale skin, tracing around her lips, smeared where Evie had wiped it away. Mal turned the tarnished silver faucet handle of the sink, wetting the rag sitting next to it underneath the stream of water once it was warm enough. She wiped, blotted and scrubbed at her face until all traces of the blood vanished from her pallid skin.

"Not so hard." Evie chided quietly. Mal glanced up at her through the mirror. She had wrapped herself up in the comforter, wearing it over her shoulders like an aging king leaned against the bathroom doorway. Her face was anything but. No one should look that happy and perfect this early in the morning when it was this cold. "You're going to upset your skin."

"My skin is fine, Evie." Mal said with far less venom or bite than she'd intended. She almost sounded fond and she wanted to kick herself. Sure, they were good now, and yeah, her and Evie had always had soft spots for each other, but that didn't mean Evie had to constantly be aware of how much Mal adored her.

Evie briefly looked like she was going to say something, but thought better of it, responding with a sweet smile instead. She reached a smooth looking hand out of her royal blue comforter, offering it to Mal. Mal tried not to jump at the chance to grab it, to feel Evie's warmth again.

She forced herself to leisurely put the soiled rag down on the sink and wipe her hands off on the towel hanging on a rack next to the bathtub before she turned on her heels and slipped her hand into Evie's, still perhaps a little to eagerly.

"Back to bed?" Evie suggested as she pulled Mal a little closer, wrapping the comforter and her arms around her shoulders. Mal stumbled into her embrace, almost falling face first into Evie's shoulder with a dumb grin on her face.

"Food first?" Mal countered, a gleam in her green eyes as she oped to press her hands against the door frame behind them instead of Evie's warm body.

"I'm sure we can convince the boys to bring us a little something from the mess hall instead." Evie offered, smiling down at Mal, her warm brown eyes reflecting the gleam in Mal's. Evie somehow managed to always look so sweet. Sometimes she looked really hot, like she was going to eat you alive and you'd be so beyond okay with it, but most of the time, she looked sweeter than cotton candy. Mal felt the heat creeping up her neck, ghosting over her ears like a warm breeze as Evie leaned a little bit closer into her space. Evie only had a few inches on Mal, but sometimes those measly inches felt like much more. Evie was the only person who could ever make Mal feel small without Mal lashing out to prove that she wasn't. Sometimes small wasn't bad.

"Fine, fine. But if you just wanted to keep cuddling with me so badly, you could just say so next time." Mal teased, flashing a confident smirk up at Evie. Evie's rolled her eyes. Mal knew Evie wasn't easily embarrassed, nor did she ever back down from one of Mal's flirting competitions, but sometimes Mal couldn't help but challenge.

"Noted." She said simply, giving Mal one of those heartmelting grins as she shifted them both back toward her bed. Mal's had hardly been used in the past two weeks and the blankets had been stripped off and added to Evie's a few days ago when it was officially clear that Mal would be sleeping with her until either Winter stopped being an asshole or FG fixed the heater. (The former seemed more likely to happen anytime soon.) Mal almost felt bad for it.

_*_

"Geeze, this thing is dusty!" Jay said as he landed on Mal's bed with a soft 'thumf'.

Evie and Mal spread the food Carlos handed them out on the purple blanket in front of there crisscrossed legs, Evie's blue comforter still draped over their shoulders as they began delegating who got what and what they would share. Carlos kept an assortment of granola packets and two cups of yogurt in his hand as he crossed the room in his oversized baby blue sweater and joined Jay on Mal's stripped down bed. Jay's only real response to the chilly weather was to wear full sleeves.

"Haven't used it much since it's been so fucking cold." Mal said through a mouthful of strawberry jam covered toast. Evie smiled at her, apple-cinnamon granola filling her cheeks. Mal returned the grin, her eye twinkling as she took another bite of toast. Carlos and Jay shared a look, glancing between each other and the girls grinning at one another. Jay was the first to shrug and concern himself only with devouring his yogurt in record time.

-*-

"Mal! We agreed that was mine!" Evie whined, reaching desperately toward Mal's outstretched hand. "Come on, Eves. Share!" Mal grinned wickedly as she popped the top off of a bottle blueberry smoothie. Evie deflated, withdrawing with a frown. It was usually useless trying to convince Mal to give her something with logical reasonings like 'you said I could have that' or 'that's literally my only pair of pants in that color and you know it, please give them back.' It was okay though, Evie was good at other ways of convincing.

"Mal..." Evie began sweetly. Mal's eyes met her intense gaze. Evie batted her thick eyelashes, worrying her pink bottom lip between her teeth. Mal tilted her head to the side, focused entirely on Evie.

"You said that was mine..." Evie continued, sitting up on her knees and leaning a little closer into Mal's space. Carlos and Jay watched curiously, passing the last packet of granola between themselves. Jay had taken up most of the bed, but left room for Carlos to sit comfortably next to him, sharing their food easily and without any argument for once. Apparently fighting over food was going to be the girls' thing today. Carlos almost felt sorry for Mal, caught underneath Evie's searing gaze. She'd done that to him before, many times, and he remembered exactly what it was like. Something about her eyes could make you feel like you were pinned down by some unseen weight and all you could really concentrate on was how long her eyelashes were and how close she was to you and how pretty her hair was. From the outside, it look a lot less dramatic.

"So?" Mal managed to say, crossing her arms over her chest as she defiantly took a sip of the smoothie.

"So..." Evie leaned closer and Carlos was almost sure she was just going to kiss her right then right there. "Stop being a jerk and give it back!" Evie growled, lunging forward suddenly, tackling Mal full on, bringing them both crashing over the edge of the bed and onto the floor with a thump.

"Ugh, get off of me!" Mal said through giggles, pushing at Evie's shoulders as Evie successfully procured her smoothie triumphantly, barely able to untangle herself from the blankets and Mal enough to chug the last of it. It was a short lived achievement and soon her attention turned back to Mal.

"Hey, wait don't touch me there!" Mal shrieked suddenly as Jay and Carlos shared another look. "That tickles!" She whined, sounding both pissed of and amused at the same time as she squirmed underneath Evie's determined hand. Evie grinned, looking awfully devious for someone in the Apple Jax characters pajamas.

"Evie, your hands are fucking cold!" "Evie!" "EVIE!"

"Make room for the wrestling king!" Jay announced as he rolled off of Mal's bed and over to the two struggling girls in one movement.

"No, Jay! Come on, I was winning!" Evie whimpered as she was pushed flat on her back, Mal's knee and Jay's hand keeping her down as they struggled against each other.

"Wait! Ouch! Mal!"

"Hey! Mal, that is so not cool!" Jay wiped the yogurt off of his face, somehow finding himself pinned beneath Mal.

Carlos let out a laugh as he watched his friends tussle on the cold hardwood floor. He couldn't help but feel a little sappy, his heart feeling so warm in his chest he could hardly stand it as he watched his friends try to smash each others faces into an open container of yogurt.

"Evie!" Mal's shoulder hit the floor with a resounding thud.

"Jay! She's winning! This is your fault!"

"Sore loser." Evie giggled.

"Evie!"

"Mal."

"Jay!"

"Jay, shut up and let go off my wrist."

"Evie! That---not fair!"

"See, she's vicious."

"Shut up, Mal. Evie, fucking---damn it."

"Wait, Jay, no."

"Ha, the Wrestling King is victorious once again!"

"Wait, Carlos, where did you even--wait---ouch."

"Dethroned"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!  
> This is the first fic I've written in a while, so I hope I haven't lost my touch. Ha. Anyway, I just recently got into Descendants (Only because my dance troupe is performing Rotten To The Core and Set It Off.) but I absolutely fell in love with it. I love the concepts and the execution was very Disney. This fic will be...a little less Disney toned just because of the mature themes and how I write generally. I hope you all will like what I do with this fic! If you have any suggestions or ideas or anything, tell me about it in the comments! I love hearing from you guys!
> 
> Xoxoxox-Mabel/BeastGirl2K14


	2. Just be sure to read the warning, kids.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evie-centric. Trigger Warnings for: Mentions of drug use, underage drinking, social anxiety, physical violence and injury. Oh also the fact that I wrote this at 2 am on one hour of sleep and a bottle of Kambucha. Hope y'all enjoy!

"What's your poison, gorgeous?" The burning scent of tequila curls through the air and wafts into Evie's face. It takes all of her self-control not to crinkle her nose at the sharp smell. It takes relatively more control not to respond  _'Something to make me forget that I'm here'_ because that would sound dramatic and stupid and out of context and then she'd get herself kicked out of the sketchiest party she'd _ever_ attended.

_It's hilarious that I grew up on the Isle of the Lost and this place still puts me on edge. Who hosts a party at a place called The Snuglly Duckling? Who names a bar that? And why is any place in Auradon known for serving to underaged kids? Also why has the decor not been updated in the last 150 years? It's atrocious._

"Appletini, please." Evie responds sweetly, flashing the bartender a dazzling smile. To her, it's more of a bearing of teeth, but anyone who looked at her would be too charmed to notice the ferocity burning in her eyes. "With a dash of cinnamon." She adds, pushing a stray lock of wavy blue hair out of her face as her koal lined eyes scanned the other sullen faces surrounding the bar.

"'At all?" The bartender asks as he removes a cork from a large green bottle marked _Sleepy Hollow drought_ with his teeth. Evie thinks that perhaps it's in bad taste for a bartender to do that or for said bartender to be drinking half the beverages he was making. But then she reminded herself where she was and why she was there and bad taste seemed to be the last thing on her long, _long_ list of complaints.  

Evie almost nods to his question, distracted by the steady thrum of music pulsing out of the monstrous black speakers that surrounded the stage pressed against the far wall from where she sat, perched on a bar stool, before remembering  _exactly_ why she was there.

"A strawberrita, a Jameson on the rocks and a Captain Coke." Evie recited, having to shout a little to be heard over the music. She leaned over the (sticky) polished oak bar and shouted her order again when the bartender pushed his mop of unruly red hair out of his face and cupped a hand next to his ear. She peered up for a moment to look at the cool purple neon lights lining the walls above the bartenders head, spelling out the name of the bar. Those lights plus the sputtering fog machine underneath the bar gave the entire pub a sort of dangerous feel. They were also some of the few modern amenities in the entire establishment. 

_Note to self: Purple neon lights and fog. Aesthetically pleasing. Anxiety causing when surrounded by a bunch of drunk guys who have apparently not gotten the memo that camo cargo shorts were never in fashion._

"Alright, doll face." The bartender responded.

A warm hand slid over the small of Evie's back and around her waist before she could shout a thanks to the bartender tossing bottles of alcohol around with perhaps a tad too much flair. Evie's entire body tensed up automatically, her hands balling into fists as the hand came to rest just above her hipbone. Evie silently thanked herself for wearing her crystal ring today, she was sure an inch of pointy purple and white crystals in any available soft tissue would deter any sleezy, handsy bar patrons from trying to touch her again.

"Chill, E." A familiar voice murmured into her ear, raising the hairs on the back of Evie's neck as a whole new sensation rocketed up her spine. Evie slowly relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief as she put her hand over Mal's.

"Ice cold over here, M." Evie breathed, turning on her rickety wooden barstool to give Mal a smile. She didn't expect to be met with the wide grin (that would do Dopey proud) pulling at the corners of Mal's lips. Evie stared at her incredulously. _Was she...?_

"Oh my godmother, are you already drunk?" Evie almost whined, capturing Mal's chin in her hand and pulling her flushed face closer to her. The smell of vodka coming off of Mal in waves answered her question before Mal could even begin to speak. They'd been there all of an hour and Mal was already drunk and stumbling. Who knew what kind of trouble Jay and Carlos had gotten themselves into. 

"Whaaaattt? Noooo!" Mal drawled, straightening up her posture and doing her best to look serious and sober. The smile tugging at the corners of her pouty pink lips, the flush coloring her pale cheeks and the odd light in her emerald eyes gave her away. That and her bursting into a fit of stifled laughter a few seconds later. Evie let go of her jaw and rolled her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose as Mal recovered.

"Ah, come on, Eves. Chad said he could out-drink me!" Mal reasoned, a childish 'he started it!' tone to her voice as she slid onto the barstool next to Evie, her fingers grazing the edge of the bar as she swiveled to face her. "I just coulmn't---culldent--couldn't not prove him wrong!" Mal was leaning closer and closer to Evie as she stumbled through her words, her bright green eyes capturing Evie's incredulous gaze. Mal settled her hands on Evie's knees to support herself as she gave Evie another lazy grin, a few loose strands of purple hair falling across her face. Evie couldn't resist reaching forward and tucking them behind Mal's ear, her fingertips brushing across Mal's warm skin and---

"Here'er your drinks, honey." The freckle faced bartender shouted over the steady thrum of the music, sliding three drinks across the bar's surface toward Evie. Evie turned around a little too quickly, nearly slamming her ribs into the edge of the bar as she reached for the drinks and murmured a thanks that was more read from her lips than actually heard.

"Here." Evie turned back toward Mal with the pinkest beverage in her hand, reluctantly pressing the drink into Mal's palm firmly. Mal gave it an incredulous look, swirling it around in it's certifiably girly glass. "Strawberrita." Evie supplied helpfully. Mal's face relaxed and her dopey grin returned. Evie wasn't sure if she should be giving her any more booze, but it was better than having to remain under the suffocating scrutiny of her green eyed gaze. 

Evie hadn't planned on drinking much tonight, mostly because she was infamous for being a lightweight among her friends, but also because she had an annoying tendency to do incredibly foolish things while intoxicated. (Things Jay would never, ever, _ever_ let her live down.) And Chad's _'I'm going to New Orleans over the summer, let's drink and party to celebrate'_ party was not somewhere she wanted to be doing foolish things. But now that she was here, in the throng of swaying bodies and palpable bass and fog and neon lights and Mal's eyes staring at her intently over the rim of her drink, all she wanted to do was feel the sting of alcohol pouring past her lips and down her throat. 

_That appletini isn't going to do the trick...._

No, instead, her fingers curled around the glass of Jameson, condensation moistening her skin where her fingers pressed to the glass. She brought the rim of the glass to her lips, closing her eyes for a moment before tipping her head back. She let the burning liquid spill down her throat until the glass was drained and ice pressed against her lips, no doubt smearing her lipstick. She all but slammed the glass down on the bar, the sound lost in the blaring music, but still earning her a few sideways glances. A few from faces she knew and a few of those just interested in the hot girl in the tight pink dress downing a less than hot girl in a tight pink dress drink. A women who'd been sitting at the bar longer than Evie had, popped a few pomegranate seeds into her mouth, crushing the rubies between her teeth as she eyed Evie with a bored sort of look. 

_Brown hair, red and white flower crown and a skull pendant. Odd mix but strangely, it works. Noted._

Evie almost knocked herself off of her stool, startling when she felt a hand on her back, a little too low for her liking. _It's just Mal. It's just Mal. Mal wouldn't let anyone else get close enough to you. It's just Mal._ Evie let out a slightly dramatic sigh of relief when it was, in fact, just Mal. A little less relieved by the look she was giving Evie. 

"What?" Evie's eyebrows knit together as she noticed the sudden sobriety that had seeped into Mal's features.

"Are you okay?" Mal asked, struggling to bring clarity to her voice through all the alcohol blurring her world and the pounding music in the fog heavy air. The way her eyebrows were pressing together made Evie feel silly and irresponsible. Evie wasn't always the best at dealing with new and stressful social situations. She'd pretend she was, fake it til you make it and all that. But really, she was always a little anxious in places she wasn't familiar with. A lot anxious. And something about tonight was putting her on edge in a way she didn't like. It was like she could feel the storm clouds gathering, but she couldn't look up to see where they were coming from. Mal tilted her head, gave her that knowing look and slipped her hand into Evie's eager grasp.

"Yeah." Evie nodded, grabbing the two remaining drinks with her other hand.

_Jay will be okay drinking an appletini, right?_

Evie leaned closer to Mal, both to be heard and to feel the comfort of being in her personal space. "Do you know where Carlos and Jay are?" Evie put her feet on the ground, finding that her drink had taken affect a little quicker than she anticipated. 

"Mhm!" Mal slid off her barstool and took a step closer to Evie, putting her warm hand on the taller girl's shoulder to steady her. "You good?"

Mal was significantly less sober than Evie, and that fact that Evie found herself leaning against her made her feel all the more foolish.

 _Curse of a lightweight._ She thought bitterly as she nodded and let Mal tug her through the throng of people dancing, swaying and grinding on one another. Evie evaded and avoided as many reaching hands and grinding bodies as she could as Mal dragged her toward the opposite side of the uncomfortably warm bar, near the back door, just off to the side of where the DJ was switching tracks. The DJ was absolutely drenched in sweat, her bleach blonde hair, streaked with a blue just a few shades lighter than Evie's hair, hung limply around her flushed face. Her eyes were closed as she danced to the newest sounds that vibrated out of the huge speakers surrounding her stage.

Carlos, Jane and a few other faceless, nameless people were huddled around an ancient looking jukebox pressed into the corner just a few yards from the DJ. One of Carlos' hands was working around inside of the machine, elbow deep, while his other hand held a suspicious looking rolled cigarette. Smoke hung lowly above their heads, mingling with the artificial fog, and the new smell that curled into Evie's senses confirmed exactly what was inside that rolled paper.  _Typical._

Chad, looking very _very_ inebriated, shouted some muffled expletive from a table surrounded by people jeering, cheering and sobbing into their gin. His blonde hair was plastered against his sweaty forehead and strain crinkled his expression. Evie caught sight of Jay through the thick forest of bodies surrounding the table. He looked only slightly more sober than Chad as he grinned wickedly, his hair still tied loosely into the bun Evie had styled earlier that night. Piles of cigars, crumpled cash, watches, jewelry and what looked like someones jock strap were piled next to them, just barely in Evie line of sight between another pair of camo cargo shorts wearing nobodies. Another shifting body revealed exactly what the two boys were doing. Hands clasped together, sleeves rolled up as high as they would go over bulging biceps, elbows planted firmly on the splintering wooden table they'd claimed, muscles working against each other and sweat pouring down their faces.  _Arm wrestling. Typical._

"Ooooh! Did you see that Ladies, Gentlemen and others? Chad Charming is barely able to recover from Jay Sulatana's sneak attack of strength. I hope you all have placed your bets because this battle of brawn seems to be coming to a close!" Lonnie, dressed in the gorgeously draped olive green and crimson knee length dress Evie had made her for her birthday, was standing on the table next to the boy's, shouting into an empty champagne glass as she animatedly narrated the competition. 

Evie remembered another reason she hadn't been planning on getting intoxicated tonight: _My friends are fucking degenerate five year olds._  


Evie stuffed the half melted and watered down drinks she was holding into a stumbling passerby's hands, ignoring their remarks as she stomped her way over to Carlos, Mal in tow, still grasping her hand tightly. She grabbed the back of Carlos' shirt collar (a shirt she'd made for him recently out of a fabric Jane had bought her during her trip in Italy.) and yanked him away from the machine.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Carlos whined as he detangled his fingers from the Jukebox's innards and tried to regain his footing as he as dragged away from his adoring audience. "Oh, I'm moving." He noted with wonderment, breaking free of Evie's grasp and straightening out his shirt as he looked around.

_Note to self: Ask Jane if she has anymore of that fabric. It looks great underneath blue and green party lights._

Carlos' ever wondering attention turned back to Evie slowly as she waved a hand in front of his face, his wide brown eyes focusing in on Evie's leisurely. 

"We're leaving." She said simply, plucking the _'cigarette'_ from Carlos's grime covered fingers as he tried to bring it to his lips. She  _accidentally_  tossed it into Audrey's drink a few yards away.

"Hey!" Carlos started protesting. Evie shot him a meaningful look. He languidly mulled over the options in his head, expressions gradually dancing over his features. He shrugged a few moments later, just as Evie was beginning to become impatient. "Okay, I guess we can go." A grin curled his lips in a way that matched Mal's so closely, Evie wondered if Mal had done a little more than drink Chad under a table.

Evie pulled on Mal's hand, tugging the shorter girl away from a heated conversation with some guy wearing an eye patch a nursing a rather impressive mug of  _something_ , smoke rolling off it's surface and down the sides of the cup.

"Did you know they won't let you rent a sailboat if you've been drinking rum all day?" Mal asked, outrage and inebriation curling around her words as she stumbled into Evie's side. "Do they not know what inspires people to go sailing?" 

"I think your last name has to be Hook for you to get away with that around here." Carlos said, before bursting into a short fit of giggles as someone across the bar falls out of their chair and onto the floor with a thud that shook the floor even harder than the bass of the music was. He didn't fight Evie as she grabbed a hold of his hand, yanked him closer and pressed it into Mal's.

"Stay together and stay here." Evie ordered in that no nonsense sort of way that she hardly ever used, not letting go of their hands until they were holding onto each other. Carlos nodded absentmindedly, his starry eyed gaze following the green and blue strobing lights set up high above the DJ's stage. Mal seemed like she was going to protest, trying to shake her hand free from Carlos' sweaty grasp. "Stay." Evie said again, putting a finger up in front of Mal's face. They had a small, wordless conversation, Evie's warm, brown eyes looking as solid as ever as Mal stared into them, some unnamed emotion swirling around in the green pools of her eyes. Eventually, Mal let up, her lips pressing into a thin line as she nodded. 

Evie turned on her heels without another word and made her way through the crowd of sweaty, gross, tragically dressed people standing around Chad and Jay's table. The pile next to them had grown significantly since the last time she had glanced over and---was that Ben's crown?

"Oh, hey, Ben!" She heard Mal shout behind her, just barely loud enough over the blaring music. 

"Jay." Evie said, putting a perfectly manicured hand on the chipped, splintering, carved in wooden table in front of her. Jay spared her a quick glance before continuing his unwavering eye contact with Chad.

"Not now, babe. I'm busy." He said, pressing a little harder into Chad's arm, sweat beading along his brow. Chad, somehow managing to hold his own even though he had to be one of the drunkest people in the entire bar, looked a little worried as his hand started getting closer and closer to the table's gnarled surface.

"Jay." Evie said again, putting another hand on the table. Jay had never heard his name drenched in so much warning. It raised the hairs on the back of his neck instantly. He gave her another, longer glance.

Evie was adorable. Many would say she was pretty. Most would attest that she was incredibly gorgeous and quite a few would agree that she was ridiculously hot. These were all known facts about Evie LaReine, but what a lot of people didn't know was that she could be absolutely fucking _terrifying_. Sure, that _scare anyone with just a glance_ thing was more of Mal's thing, but Evie could be just as mortifying if the occasion arose. 

"O-okay. One sec." Jay said. He turned back to Chad, the look of mild panic giving way to a small, knowing grin as he leaned closer to the sweaty prince and---then he slammed Chad's pale hand down on the table with an excessive brutality. Chad winced, withdrawing his hand quickly as if he had been burned. Evie couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth as she watched the spoiled prince rub the back of his tender hand. 

"Oh, man! And with that, Jay wins the competition!" Lonnie exclaims, raising her hands above her head as the crowd around them either cheered or booed loudly. Lonnie, tripping over her own feet in a display of an uncharacteristic lack of grace, fell off the rickety table, luckily falling into Ben's reaching arms. Another round of cheering ensued, almost making it impossible for Evie to hear Chad's spew of expletives.

"What the fuck, Sulatana?" Chad barked angrily a moment later, standing up so suddenly he almost knocked himself over with the momentum.

"Sore loser, Charming?" Jay smirked, gathering up his loot in his maroon sleeved arms. He tossed Ben's crown back to him like a Frisbee, nearly taking out a particularly tall freshman standing behind Evie. 

"Fuck you, street rat." Chad growled, his breath reeking of so much alcohol, Evie could smell it from 5 feet away. This time, she let her nose crinkle at the burning scent.

"Boys." Evie began impatiently, crossing her arms over her chest, jingling the black metal necklace that hung around her neck.

"Shut the fuck up, Evie." Chad snarled, slathering her name in a significant amount of malice. She raised an eyebrow at him, watching his face grow redder and redder.

"Hey, don't fucking talk to her like that, you rich little bitch." Jay seethed, dropping all if his things back on the table and grabbing Chad by the blue lapels of his sweat stained jacket. Chad stared at him, a liquor dulled look of terror slowly taking over his flushed face.

"R-right." He said. Evie thought either he realized he was far too drunk to take Jay on or that that pretty face of his wouldn't last the night if he even tried. "Sorry, Evie." He turned his head toward her, more to avoid the weight of Jay's glare than to actually seem sincere. 

"Don't worry about it." Evie gave a sarcastic shake of her head and an arching wave off. "Jay, can we go?" She tapped her foot impatiently. The loud music and smell of cheap liquor was giving her a serious headache and all she wanted to do was take her heels off.

Jay stared at the side of Chad's face for a few moments longer, as if he were going to be able to burn holes into Chad's perfect complexion if he tried. He released Chad a moment later, watching the boy skitter backward into the wooden wall behind him, struggling to drunkenly find his footing. Jay shook his head and scooped his loot into his arms again.

"Hey! You gave the king back his stuff, I want mine back!" Someone in the crowd shouted over the blaring bass.

"Get a royal title, get your stuff back." Jay said, briefly forgetting where he was.

"I'm a prince!" Someone on the other side of the crowd shouted.

"I'm a duchess!" Another voice yelled.

"I'm a princess." "I'm a heir to a shoe company." "I'm a queen of a small island!" 

The crowd around them exploded in a shouting of titles and denominations, anything that could make them seem special enough to deserve their things back.

"My cat thinks I'm a queen." "I'm student body vice president!" "I'm the cousin of Rapunzel's handmaiden!"

Jay seemed to sense the sudden shift in the mood of the crowd, stuffing a few of the most valuable and shiny things into his pockets as he glanced toward the back door, propped open with a brick.

_*_

"Ow. Ow. Ow....Ow."

"Stop moving, Mal." Evie chided softly through the gauze strip held between her teeth.

"That hurts." Mal voice slipped past her lips sounding whiny and strained as she gripped Jay's hand tightly and watched Evie's determined hands work diligently.

"Remember that the next time you try to fight someone twice your size." Evie slipped the gauze out from between her lips and pressed it gently against the break in Mal's pale skin. Mal muffled a whimper into Jay's shoulder, flexing away from her touch. "Sorry." Evie murmured, finally glancing away from Mal's ribs and up to her face. A bruise bloomed across Mal's right cheek bone, like purple flower petals slipped underneath her pale skin. The bruises and cuts seemed to only bring an even brighter intensity to Mal's pale emerald eyes as they peered down at Evie.

"Yeah." Mal murmured.

They probably would have continued staring at each other like that if Jay hadn't let out a muffled laugh, reminding them of his presence. Evie shot him a glare before returning to her work rubbing healing oils and disinfectants into the slash of red marring the pallid skin stretched across Mal's ribs. Mal winced again when Evie pressed more gauze against the tender wound. She watched as the thin white fabric was quickly soaked in red, resembling a vast majority of her pillowcases. 

"Please stop bleeding." Evie said absentmindedly as she reached into her (vintage) tin first aid kit propped open on her bedside table, fishing around for more gauze.

"I'm tryin'." Mal grumbled softly, adjusting her shirt, bunched up around her neck so that it wouldn't impede Evie's hands.

"You ending up the most hurt out of all of us will never not be fucking hilarious." Jay smirked, the expression tinging every corner of his features with smugness. The small gash above his eyebrow was just about the worst thing he'd sustained from the entire ordeal and that pissed Mal off to no end.

"You ending up the least hurt out of all of us and sitting on the grassy hill across the street eating a cantaloupe with a pocket knife before we even got out of the bar will never not be super fucking uncool." Mal growled, the malice in her voice severely lacking as she pressed another whimper into Jay's shoulder. She winced, squeezing Jay's hand and taking a breath in sharply through her teeth as Evie pressed more gauze to her ribs.

 "Sorry." Evie murmured again.

"How is Carlos even sleeping right now?" Mal asked, quickly changing the subject as she shifted against the backboard of Evie's bed. Carlos was curled up at the foot of the bed, a pillowcaseless pillow stuffed underneath his head, his white hair going every which way. His almost reflective silver-ish shirt collar was tinged with blood and a bright blue and black bruise painted it's way across the bridge of his nose. The bruises didn't make him look any less peaceful as he mumbled quietly in his sleep, shifting a little when Mal poked him with her toe.

"He's got an internal clock. If he doesn't catch a few winks at a certain time, he's up for days straight. It's not healthy." Jay shakes his head, leaning it back against the wooden backboard behind them.

"Huh. Well then." Mal glanced down past her outstretched legs at Carlos' steadily breathing form. She smiled a little when he twitched and shifted in his sleep, murmuring something about circuitry. 

"Alright, you're all done." Evie announced, finally leaning back away from Mal's ribs, tossing the soiled gauze and other medical supplies into the trash can next to the wooden bedside table. Evie sat up straight and stretched her arms above her head, letting out a soft sigh as she let them crash back down into her lap. Her pink dress was ripped up her thigh and a few cuts and bruises peppered her elbows and knees. Luckily, she'd managed to protect her face and any other soft tissues. If it hadn't been for Ben dragging her, Mal and Carlos to safety, they'd all be worse for wear.

"Thanks, doc." Mal smiled widely, her fingers brushing against Evie's knee. Mal carefully shifted forward, testing how far she could move before the stinging in her side would be too much. 

"Try not to...try not to move too much for a little while, okay?" Evie said slowly, putting her cool hands on Mal's pale shoulders to still her and press her back against the mahogany backboard. 

"Well damn, Mal. Looks like we're going to have to quit those aerial acrobatic yoga classes we signed up for." Jay joked, settling himself sideways so that Mal could lean against him.

"Shoot, I was really looking forward to those." Mal grinned, leaning her head back against Jay's chest as she gave Evie a wink.

"Ha ha ha. But seriously, try to be careful." Evie warned, rolling her eyes at Jay and Mal's antics. Her head still ached from the nights _festivities_ and she did not want to have to patch Mal up again.

Jay ruffled Mal's already disheveled hair, slipping out from under her as he pushed himself off of Evie's bed, the mattress groaning at the shift of weight. Mal shot him a look as she ran her fingers through her messy purple locks.

"Well, on that note, I'm gonna take this one back to our room. Fairy GMother's henchmen are gonna be by soon to make sure we're all where we're suppose to be and Carlos and I can't get another ' _infraction notice_ ' stapled to our door." Jay slipped his arm underneath Carlos' legs and shoulders, barely rousing the boy as he lifted him effortlessly off of Evie's bed.

"See you ladies in the morning." He grinned, winking as backed out of there room and pulled the huge door closed with his foot.

_*_

"Stop texting Jane and go to sleep." Mal scolded sarcastically, her eyes barely leaving the screen of her own phone as she tried to knock Evie's out of her hand.

"You first." Evie said simply, easily evading Mal's reaching fingers.

"I'm not texting Jane. I'm texting Ben." Mal said, raising her head off of Evie's stomach just long enough to glance up at her and grin.

"Shut up, you know what I meant." Evie returned the smile as her eyes flickered down to meet Mal's gaze. "And tell him thanks for pretty much saving our lives tonight."

"I will." Mal said, a sigh lacing it's way through her words as she settled back down against Evie. She put her phone down next to her a few moments later. Evie thought that was the end of it until Mal was suddenly on her hands and knees, leaning over her and reaching toward the white shaded bedside lamp.

"Hey, minimal moving." Evie growled, the glare probably lost on Mal as she flicked the light off. Moonlight flooded the room, barely enough to eerily illuminate much more than the almost translucent curtains in front of the windows.

"Blah blah blah." Mal's voice sounded like it was still above Evie's face, but she couldn't be sure. She could smell the alcohol wafting off of Mal still and she could feel her warmth but she couldn't quiet tell where---Her eyes were still adjusting to the dark when warm, damp lips were suddenly pressing against her cheek, gone in the next moment. "Thanks for putting me back together, Eves." Evie could feel Mal's breath, hot and smelling of vodka and cantaloupe, on her cheek as she spoke. 

_Note to self: Vodka and cantaloupe=an oddly enticing mix._

"No problem." And she thanked any god who cared that her voice came out so calm and even. "What are friends for?" Mal let out a huff of air at that, the mattress shifting under her as she moved back to her designated side of the bed.

Mal settled into the pillows next to Evie, resting her forehead against Evie's warm shoulder as she got comfortable. Evie carefully turned onto her side, scooting a little closer to Mal in the cold darkness that filled their bedroom. She tugged the downy comforter over their shoulders and tucked her feet in between Mal's. She was careful not to slide her fingers over the rough patch of gauze taped to Mal's ribs as she slid an arm around her waist.

"You're the best friend I've ever had." Mal remarked through a yawn, nuzzling into Evie's collarbone. "But you knew that." 

"Obviously." Evie smiled into the darkness, gently resting her chin on top of Mal's head. Most of their peers sleeping peacefully in the castle-like dorm around them would be absolutely dumbfounded to see either of them, especially Mal acting so tender. But Evie knew that tenderness happened to be one of their many shared secrets.

Evie was awake for a long time after that, just listening to Mal's breathing and the soft little noises she made as she dreamed. She wasn't even sure when she drifted off into sleep herself.

She just remembered waking up the next morning to screaming.


	3. Why did you steal my cotton candy heart?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey!
> 
> Sorry that this took so long to update, everyone! I've been super busy, so I wrote all of this today. Sorry if it reads like that.
> 
> Evie quotes an Epik High song in her semi-prophetic dream in this chapter.
> 
> This is pretty Evie-centric again for most of it, but that's mostly because I like looking back at life on the Isle through her perspective and Mal's. There's a lot of Mal in this chapter too.
> 
> (Just a quick question: Are any of you reading this into Jaylos? Benlos? What do ya'll ship? Comment below!)
> 
> Tw for a bit of an emotionally brutal nightmare, some physical violence and injury again (nothing terribly graphic.), some verbal abuse and a small (kind of) drowning scene. All of it's pretty short, so. 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy chapter three!!

_"You are a beautiful mystery._

_Every note carved into musical history._

_-A simile, a metaphor, words not enough to entrust to you,_

_and trust that it's true." I sing, giggling through the verses. I hear them echoed back at me through soft pink lips brushing across my warm skin. When she sings them, they sound familiar, like she's sung them to me before._

_They feel like they've been echoing in my head, echoing in my dreams for years. Like they've slipped through my lips and hers a million times, but we've never said them out loud._

_Have I ever said anything out loud? All I can remember is right now. Short nails against my skin, smiling teeth nipping at my neck, curious fingers wandering over my body, eyes so green, so bright, so intense. She's touching me like she would die if she stopped and I feel like I would too._

_Something is trying to pull me away. Something is tugging at me, but I can't see it. I can feel it though. It's like I've forgotten something very important, and some part of me that isn't committing every curve, dip and edge of her body to memory is screaming at me to remember it._

_"I don't want to leave. Here in her arms is where I belong. The only throne I need is her lap. The only crown I want is her hands in my hair." I murmur to myself, my words barely more than a thought, but she doesn't seem to notice me speaking and if she does, she's too busy kissing each syllable off of my lips to care. She's completely and hopelessly enraptured by me. A selfish part of me wishes that she would stay this way forever. That the both of us could stay this way forever, laid out on a warm, golden blanket beneath the branches of tree full of quietly hooting owls. The sun finally sinks below the horizon in an explosion of beautiful oranges, reds and pinks when she sings: "I was born in a thunderstorm. I grew up overnight." against my ear. I shift closer to her in her lap, my thighs keeping her in place beneath me._

_I lean forward and reclaim her pouty lipped grin as darkness spreads across the sandy beach and sleepy forest around us. Every time I glance around, my eyes see more of our surroundings. They look familiar. 12 enormous white trees make up the edge of the woods just beyond the warm sands of the beach where we've settled. I'm sure I would remember this and where I'd seen it before if not for my focus being stolen every other moment by her._

_"Evie. Evie. Evie." Those are the only clear words coming out of her mouth now. The rest are muted, muffled, lost against my hungry lips._

_"Evie. Evie. Evie." She says my name and shivers skitter up my spine like cold fingers. All thoughts of familiar forests or otherwise are wiped from my blurry thoughts. Her eyes are focused only on me as she leans back and traces my jaw with her fingertips She's smiling at me in that way, that way she only does for me. The smile where it crinkles across her nose and her dimples are at there best and brightest. I lean in and press my smile against hers, tasting her words rather than hearing them. She laughs softly against my lips, her gentle hands sliding up my neck and into my hair. She plays with one of the lotus flowers braided into my wavy blue locks as she whispers another set of lyrics against my mouth._

_"Evie." A deeper voice murmurs from behind me. Rougher, warmer hands slide down my bare arms. Another body presses against mine. It's all take and give between the two of them and I can't get enough of it. Where she is soft and needy, he is hard and wanting. All muscle and sturdy bones underneath the white clothe draped around his frame, matching ours. But he's being so gentle with me. He's always so gentle. He murmurs my name into my hair. "Evie. Evie. Evie." And he's wrapping his arms around the both of us, keeping us safe, keeping us together. Nothing can hurt me here and that makes me brave enough to look over her shoulder and out at the shadowy forest and the dark beach again. There's something out there, beyond the rocks, something that--She captures my lips and my attention again and I melt into the both of them._

_"Evie. Evie. Evie." Another voice is added to the chorus, whispering my name like a prayer to some higher power. Like a holy word saved only to be spoken in the presence of colored glass and divinity. "We need you. Evie. Evie. We want you." Another set of hands press against my body and these are smaller but just as rough as the last. There are cuts and electrical burns and places where the bones beneath the skin have been broken and healed. My lips twitch at the urge to kiss his hands until all the pain they've been through vanishes. _His white hair brushes against my face and his big brown eyes stare up at me with so much adoration I can hardly stand it. I put an arm around him, pull him closer, try to keep him warm. Her fingers slip down my neck and slide over my exposed collar bones, following the trail of bright violet flower petals she kissed into my creamy skin. I watch him tentatively put his arm around her waist too. She's too focused on me to care, or maybe she knows that all four of us together is all I want. Either way, I can't stop myself from kissing her in appreciation.__

_There's no take, no give, no need, no want, yet all of those things at once. I'm being worshiped by each of them and it's all I've ever want. It's selfish, it's the most selfish thing I've ever wanted, ever had, but I can't stop myself from indulging, from asking questions from answer whatever it is that is calling to me from beyond the rocks. I press my lips against each one of them until my mind is nothing but blurry images and laughter._

_"Evie. Evie. Evie." It sounds like they are singing and speaking and laughing at the same time. "We love you, Evie. We need you, Evie. We need you."_

_All I can see is purple strands of hair, muscles moving beneath tan skin, freckles scattered across cheeks like constellations across the sky._

_"The sky." I whisper, but it's lost to the wind, to the movements of their bodies, to his lilting laughter against his tan shoulders. My worry is wiped away from my foggy mind by her tongue sliding passed my lips. I moan each of their names and they moan back and this is selfish and I know it. I know it and the clouds gathering above our heads know it too, but I'm drunk on her lips and his arms and his happy smile._

_Lightning cracks like a whip across the sky and for the first time I see the gnarled tree we're sitting beneath, dark olives hanging low from it's branches. Something sparkles in the brief flash of light. Something golden and flying. My kiss-swollen lips are finally free again I begin to speak, to ask questions, to say anything. But my attention is pulled---yanked away from the sky by her teeth pressing a little too roughly into my collarbone, by his arm pressing into my waist a little too tightly, by his fingertips pressing into my skin a little too firmly._

_"Evie. Evie! Evie! EVIE!" The choir is screaming my name now, I can feel it rumbling in each of their chests like thunder, but I can't see it on their lips, I can't hear it. I can only feel it. It feels like the tugging I felt earlier. The feeling that I've forgotten something crucial yanks at me with a whole new vigor, but their arms keep me in place. Whatever was calling me from beyond the rocks is now screaming for me. The clouds above are bellowing and all I want to do is cover my ears._

_"EVIE! FIND YOUR PLACE. EVIE, WE NEED YOU. ANSWER THE EMPTINESS IN YOUR HEART." The hands on my body are no longer caressing and gentle, the lips no longer curved into smiles, the stares no longer filled with love. No, now they grip roughly, they bare their teeth, they glare. I can feel the bruises bloom underneath their touch, the blood dripping from their lips, the tears pricking in my eyes. "WHY WON'T YOU LET US INTO THE EMPTINESS IN YOUR HEART? EVIE. PLEASE."_

_Her eyes are glowing angrily in the inky darkness that surrounds us. That beautiful pale emerald turns into a burning, toxic green, boring into me with no sense of delicacy or love left, like acid. It's painful, it's so painful, but I can't look away._

_"You have to answer it, Evie." She says as her touch leaves me all too suddenly, her face is just out of my reach. She shutting me out. She's shutting me out and I can't stop her._

_"You have to find your place, Evie." He says, his crushing grip finally releases me. His brute strength and his searing glare leave me sore and bruised and cold. He's by her side before I can even speak, if I could speak, if I could even think of the words to say. He's not protecting me anymore. He looks at me the way he looks at everyone else and I hate it._

_"You have to let us in, Evie." He whispers as he pulls my fingers out of his shock of white hair. "Please, Evie."  And his eyes don't have an ounce of kindness left as they stare down at me. He joins the others, his eyes reflecting their indifference. He looks so disappointed in me. I've failed him. I've failed all of them._

_"Find your place." They say in unison, and their voices send a chill up my spine. I can't move. I can't move but I need to. I need to run after them, I need to promise to be better, I need to promise to be enough for them. But I can't. I can't do what they need me to do and their stares are crushing me. I'm paralyzed underneath the weight of their gazes. They stand in front of crashing waves and the stormy sky, the waves spitting up angry, frothing seafoam that hits their heels as another crack of lightning splits the sky._

_And then screaming fills my ears. All I can hear is screaming. Are they screaming? Am I screaming? Stop screaming. Stop screaming. Please, please, stop screaming!_

__*__

Evie bolts upright. Her clammy, pale hands desperately claw at the blue downy comforter spread across her body. Her wild brown eyes scan her surroundings frantically. Tension washes away from Evie's lethargic muscles slowly as her sleepy brain processes the morning sunlight dappling her dorm room around her, exactly how she'd left it the night before. Messy piles of bloody gauze and alcohol prep pads are still scattered across her polished bedside table, her pink dress and blueberry heels are still laying in front of her oak wardrobe where she'd stripped out of them last night, Mal's leather tennis shoes and pants are still heaped together next to their bed. Grandiloquent morning sunlight warms her shoulder blades just the way it always does and---

A high pitched, blood-curdling scream rattles into her head, scrambling her mind. TV static fills her brain as she balls her hands into fists, ready for a fight. Or she would be if she could see or think clearly. The shrieks feel like they're trying to liquefying her brain. A blinding pain she can't quite feel fills the spaces between her bones and brieftly she thinks _this is the end_ and---the screaming ends in an incomprehensible gurgling and the clouds in Evie's head disappear.

_What's happening? Where's Mal?_

Evie's eyes lock onto a dark figure, standing just beyond the foot of her bed in between her bed posts. It's a person, she can tell, but there's this tangible blue-green haze around it, and tendrils of darkness curl off of it like.... _seaweed?_ Like black seaweed made of torn lace. Ink leaks off of each strip and into the air around the creature like it's _water_.

Evie stares, wide eyed and pale faced, her fists still clenched, knuckles turning white in front of her as her mind sputters and then goes blank. Not TV static blank like before, but complete darkness, endless void style blank.  She has no idea what to do. She's caught under this  _thing's_ gaze as it screams at her again and  _where is Mal?!_

"EVIE!" 

_There she is._

"EVIE!" Mal shouts again, the mattress dipping as Mal jumps onto it, just a blur of purple and green in Evie's periphery. 

_I can't look away. Why can't I look away??_

Evie's gaze is glued to those empty looking yellow eyes, obscured by the torn, soiled, black lace vale floating in front of the  _creature's_ face. The figure, _the women_ , lifts a sickly, almost skeletal arm up in front of herself, pointing a limp finger straight at Evie. Mal's hands are on Evie's shoulders and she's putting her body in front of Evie.

_Of course she is._

But, with barely a flick of the creatures wrist, Mal is flying across the room and her body slams into Evie's sewing table with an audible  _CRACK!_

Evie's chest fills up with a whole new kind of panic and her heart feels like it stops for a few seconds when Mal doesn't get up.  _Mal always gets up._

"DON'T. FOLLOW. THE. λαχτάρα." The women screams and it sounds like she's talking with her face in a pool of water. "DON'T. TRUST. THE. βαρεθεί. θεών." Her words end in another bout of incomprehensible gurgling and then with another lazy, puppet-like gesture the blue-green haze that surrounds her rushes forward into a tunnel, a river suspended in midair, and surges straight into the center of Evie's chest in a matter of seconds. She hardly even has time to flinch.

Her breath leaves her immediately from the sheer force of the blow, slamming her against the hardwood backboard of her bed with an audible _THWAMP!_

Before she can even think to gasp for breath, something else fills her lungs. Something heavy and _sloshing_ and her body immediately wants it out. Evie chokes, her vision blurring as she doubles over and gags, grasping at the bed underneath her, desperately trying to relieve the harsh burning that has set her insides on _fire_.

_This isn't happening. This is a nightmare. This is impossible._

One of the daggers Mal had tucked away in Evie's bedside table finds itself pressed into Evie's sweaty palm in a split second as she coughs up a mouthful of water onto the carpeted floor. The dagger's jeweled handle is only in her hand for another moment before it's hurtling through the air. Evie's deadly aim would have found it's mark if not for the absolutely  _impossible_ way the creature moved, shifting out of the daggers path and to the other side of the room in a split second. If Evie had blinked, she would have missed it. She reached for something else---anything else to throw at the creature. But the world was getting dark and the strain of not breathing was creeping up Evie's throat, muddying her thoughts. She gagged and heaved, and more water was coughed onto the floor, soaking the thick material of the carpet.

She barely caught a glimpse of the creature running-- _flittering_ \---shifting impossibly fast toward the full length mirror in the corner. One second the creature was hurtling toward the mirror, the next she was gone, as if she'd stepped into it, and the next moment, Evie lost consciousness. 

_*_

"Stop staring at her, Mal."

Mal's eyes flicker away from the girl with the eyebrows and the cheekbones and the beautiful head of luxurious blue curls cascading down her back. Jay simpers at her as she finally lets her lower lip snap back from between her thumb and forefinger. The corners of her mouth tug downward as she crosses her arms over her chest, wrinkling the black mesh shirt she'd stolen from a vender down at the city market the day before. She opens her mouth and Jay can already see the venom dripping from her teeth before she even speaks.

"I can stare at who I please, Jay." She says with that propriety she only uses when she's holding back the rage that is always burning bright beneath her Devil-May-Care attitude. She still douses his name in a considerable amount of bite that makes him smirk even harder. "And I'm not staring. I'm....glaring." She says and her eyes slide back to the girl across the crowded classroom. Jay follows her gaze. The girl, made memorable by her gorgeous ocean of wavy blue hair and even prettier face, is talking animatedly with a small group of other students, each of them with some degree of dreamy infatuation or enraptured attention on their faces. Jay understands why. The girl is one of the most attractive people he'd ever seen. Although on the Isle, that wasn't hard. Everyone here was soiled with dirt and blood and wretchedness, but this girl, she seemed so shiny and vibrant and pure. Well, every bit of her except for her eyes, lined in a smokey koal. Jay noticed every single time the girl would glance there way that there was something burning behind those warm brown eyes. Something that made her look hungry and dangerous, contrasting with her bright, sweet smile and her fluttering laugh.

"Isn't that Evie?" Jay asks lowly, glancing away from the glowing girl. 

"Yeah." Mal says. "She's been gone a while." She says, her eyes remain on the back of Evie's head. 

"Ten years." Jay says, watching Mal's eyebrows twitch as Evie throws her head back and her laughter fills the room again, echoing off of the stone walls.

"Did ya miss 'er, Mal?" A smirk spreads across Jay's face as Mal's burning gaze snaps back to him. He kicks his feet up, his huge black boots landing on the creaking table with a dull thud as he stares back at her, cockiness coming off of him in stifling waves.

"Shut the fuck up, Jay." She snarls in a whisper. She looks like she's mere seconds away from punching him in the nose as he continues to poke fun at her when--

"Hey, guys!" A cheerful voice interrupts their childish bickering. Her voice is somehow both high and husky at the same time, sending a chill up Mal's spine as she continues to speak. "Do you remember me?" She asks with a hopeful smile.

Jay tears his gaze away from Mal's murderous stare and turns his head toward Evie. She's smiling brightly at the two of them, in her black leather skater skirt and her button up white blouse and her knee high socks and--- _God she's perfect._  Jay thinks as he notices the golden strand of lace braided into her silky blue hair around her head like a crown. She still was quite the princess, both in appearance and attitude. He leans back slowly, pushing his shoulders back and pushing out his chest as a sly, confident grin slides onto his face. He holds his tongue and waits for Mal to respond first. 

_This is going to be priceless._

Mal straightens up a little too quickly, unclenching her fists as she forces herself to settle back into her creaking wooden and metal chair. She squares her shoulders, driving the small dose of panic that rocketed through her body at the sound of Evie's voice out of her posture. Mal, leaning back into her chair as casually as she can manage, deliberately drags her gaze up Evie's body before allowing her eyes to languidly meeting her gaze. 

 _She still likes blue._ Mal thinks distastefully. Underneath Evie's skirt was a bright blue lining, with little golden accents that Mal could see in the space between Evie's thighs. The buttons of her blouse were golden too, matching the chain of the necklace hanging from Evie's neck. She's probably the most fashionable person in the room if not the school and that lights a fire deep inside of Mal's chests. _Where does this girl get off being so put together and perfect? I bet she thinks she's better than everyone else on this fucking island. Typical princess._ Mal ignored the little voice in her head that reminded her that Evie is probably better than everyone else on this awful island and Mal thought so too.

"Sure." Mal drawls, crossing her arms over her chest as she stares back at Evie, a challenge swirling around in those green eyes of hers. Her delicate features are a mask of complete and utter  _indifference_  except for her eyes. It always was. 

Evie puts her hands on her hips, her charming smile hardly faltering under Mal and Jay's searing gazes. Something about Mal's intense stare made Evie's mouth go dry. She remembered how heavy it felt from when they were younger, much younger, but now that the weight of it was pressing down on her again, she understood why all of her memories of the pale girl were tinged with a sense of _danger._ Of course Mal was blonde back then and _relatively_ less intimidating. Something about the purple against her eyes and her skin made her look like she could watch you being brutally murdered without even blinking. Her wavy violet locks _and_ the ferocity that rimmed her emerald irises both made it hard for Evie to breathe.

"Oh, good. I was worried that you might forget." Evie all but purred and _god_ , Mal just wanted to _punch her in that dumb, beautiful face of hers_.

_Show her she can't melt you by batting her eyelashes like she can with all of the other idiots in this school, Mal. Come on._

Mal cracks each of her knuckles, slowly, individually, _pop! pop! pop!,_ and Evie fought the urge to flinch at the echoing sound (or to comment on _what a horrible habit that is.)_  Evie is the first to break the intense eye contact she'd been desperately attempting to hold--" _Eye contact shows confidence and self assurance, Evie. All traits of beautiful princess."--_ and Mal feels a small sense of triumph--of victory---at winning their little unspoken battle.

"Forget a face like yours?" Mal almost cringes at the way Jay's words feel like snakes to her when he speaks to other women--and sometimes men. "Never." He leans his weight further back in his chair, tipping back onto two creaking legs that threaten to snap beneath him as he puts his hands behind his head, flexing his exposed biceps. He winks at Evie.

Evie's perfectly shaped eyebrows knit together for a moment--- _"D_ _on't do that, Genevieve! Do you want wrinkles?"_ \---before her expression melts back into an easy smile. Her mother would scold her about wrinkles for that too, but her smile was one of her best traits and she was going to use it. _  
_

"Thanks...?" Evie says, letting her hands slip off of her hips and rest on the cold table in between her and Jay and Mal. "I couldn't forget you two either. Though you're different now. You changed your hair, Mallory." Evie points out as her eyes return to Mal's face and---- _Fuck, what did I say?_

Jay had this look of amused horror on his face as he glanced between the two girls. Mal's face had darkened instantly, her pink lips setting into a thin line, her eyes narrowing, her face suddenly flushing with a faint pink tint as she stared at Evie, almost visibly fuming. One of the scariest things about Mal was that she was so calm about her anger. It was like all the anticipation, the build up, was worse than when she actually lashed out.

"Don't. Call. Me. That." Mal growls as she slowly rose out of her chair. She was shorter than Evie by a few inches, but as she leaned into Evie's face, Evie felt like she was an ant beneath her feet. "Got it?"

Evie's warm brown eyes widened--- _How is there so much gold in her eyes? What the fuck is up with that? Wait, focus. You're trying to intimidate her here, Mal...focus._ \---Evie can feel the cold sweat starting to form on the back of her neck as Mal stares her down and her harsh gaze steals the breath from Evie's lungs again.

 _Calm and confidence in all situations, Evie._ Her mothers voice chided in her head. If her mother had ever been under the suffocating scrutiny of Mal's angry stare, she wouldn't be so calm or confident either. She would be locking her jaw and putting her hands behind her back so she could clench them into fists too.

Evie dips her head, breaking the eye contact as she nods and affirms; "Got it." She keeps her head low as she slowly says "But what do I---"

"Mal." Jay says. 

"Mal." Mal repeats as she sits back down in her creaking wood and metal chair. The lead weights in Evie's lungs finally disappear when she isn't sharing the same air with Mal. At least not as closely. She lifts her eyes slowly and  _God, I hate how easily she did that. Just broke me down into nothing...Mother would be so disappointed._

Evie watches through her lashes as Mal laces her fingers together, settling them on the cold black table in front of her. Evie notices something familiar, next to Mal's interlaced hands, a heart made up of two intricately designed dragons, carved deeply into the tables hard plastic surface.

_I've seen that before. That...that was branded onto Mal's arms when we were kids. I remember her coming to my house in tears..._

Evie stares at the mark rather than dare to meet Mal's gaze. She's still trying to find the words to use, to excuse herself from this failure of a conversation or---anything really. Any words would do, but instead she stands there, opening and closing her mouth like an idiot. Mal watches her incredulously. Jay is watching her with way more amusement on his expression, his chocolate brown eyes twinkling at Evie's misfortune. Evie tugs on her ear nervously, trying to think of something clever, something to put herself back on their level, but underneath their gazes, she feels helplessly insignificant.

Jay's still staring at Evie when she finally looks up. 

"Mal. I like it." She says, as if that had been what she was thinking about in the seconds that had passed. Like that had been what was swishing around her brain rather than all of her mothers words, all of her mothers criticisms-- _A princess must always be the life of the party, Genevieve, always know what to say, always be poised and confident. She must know when to speak and what to say, and when to shut her pretty little mouth._ "And your hair. Your hair is longer since the last time I saw you, Jay." Maybe Evie should keep her  _pretty little mouth shut_  and give up on trying to gain the acceptance of these long lost _friends_ of hers, but she can't. She can't stand not being loved--adored---by everyone. And definitely not these two.

Jay's stare is still focused sharply on Evie's face. He nods slowly, as if not processing what she says for several moments. He's never seen anyone bounce back from a slip up like that with Mal. It was admirable. Very very admirable. Evie was way more brave than he'd given her credit for--- _and oh, she's still waiting for me to answer._

"Oh, yeah." He says suddenly as Mal elbowed him in the ribs. His cool facade flickering slightly in front of Evie's eyes makes her want to see it more, see more of who he was when he wasn't putting on the tough-guy-act. "Ladies like something to grab a hold of." A smirk slides onto his face and he winks at her suggestively, his swagger returning with a new vigor.

Mal smiles, but the expression only plays across her rosy pink lips. Her sparkling eyes still have that odd almost-anger burning in them, the muscles in her jaw flexing just beneath her ears as she sets it firmly. That was frustration, Evie recognized it immediately. She'd seen it today in the faces of the professors who taught her classes, she'd seen it in the shoulders of the girls whose insecurities flared just at the sight of her and the jaws of the boys she ignored as they tried to speak to her--- _No boy at that wretched school is good enough for you, Evie. None rich enough, none with a royal title. Don't waste any time you could be using improving your looks, dear._

"Like she'd be interest in you." Mal says as if she's just poking fun, but Evie can tell she means it. Her words rang more genuine than they did sarcastic.

Evie likes the way Mal had said _Evie_ wouldn't be interested _Jay_ , as if Evie was somehow _above_ that. Jay was a very pretty boy, far more attractive than any of the other 10th grade boys ogling Evie in the halls. (He seemed to drool over Evie significantly less, which was a plus.) He had those cheekbones and the smirk that made his smugness oddly charming. But a part of Evie wondered if  _maybe_ it wasn't Jay not being _good enough_ for her. _Maybe_ Mal just didn't  _want_ Evie to be interested in Jay.

Evie tilts her head, a surge of confidence filling her up like air into a balloon. She lifts her chin and looks at Mal, determination painting it's way across her face. Mal' head is still turned toward Jay, but her eyes peer over, her glance meeting Evie's stare. 

"What?" Mal snaps, turning her head to glare at Evie full on, her bangs falling messily into her face. Mal blows the offending strands of hair out of her eyes with a frustrated puff of air.

"Nothing." Evie hides a giggle behind her leather gloved hand. 

Mal blinks a few times, her long eyelashes catching Evie's attention--- _for aesthetic reasons, of course_. Mal stares intently at the grinning girl in front of her, a vast range of emotions dancing across her pallid features in just a few short seconds.

"Alright,  _Princess_." Mal laces the word  _princess_ with obvious notes of distaste, but Evie still likes the ways she says it, likes the way it sounds in her voice, likes the way it makes her shiver a little. "Enough of the small talk. What is it you're trying to get from us?" Mal asks suddenly. She leans back in her chair, mirroring Jay's pose (with less flexing and smirking and  _Jayness.)_

"Ah, come on, Mal." Jay drawls. "Maybe she just  _weally weally_ wants to talk to us. Maybe she wants to be our _friend._ " He mocks, grinning widely at the side of Mal's face.

"Sure." Mal says, sounding unconvinced as she keeps her eyes on Evie's. "Or maybe she's got something else in mind. New girl comes back to public life after ten years of isolation...what better first step than to befriend the son of Jafar and debatabley the only decent boy on this island and the daughter of Maleficent, ruler of this trash heap. Then, sometime from now, when she's inevitably found herself at the top of the disgusting social food chain of this school, she'll drop us."

"Jeeze. Do you really think she's that devious?" Jay laughs, giving Evie a sideways glance.

Evie wants to say something, wants to say the perfect words to not only completely disprove Mal's ridiculous claims, but also endear herself to the two of them. A true princess would be able to find those words with ease and tact, but Evie was too busy shoving the indignant rage bubbling inside of her back down, keeping it from spewing out of her mouth. An entitled kind of royal pride came along with her Mother's teachings as well. 

"I don't know, Jay. Maybe I'm giving her too much credit. Maybe she's not smart enough for that..." Mal looks right into Evie's eyes and raises her eyebrows. "Am I right, _Princess_?"

And this time the nickname doesn't make her shiver. No, it makes her angry. Evie can't help it, her chin juts forward and her nose crinkles as she opens her mouth to speak, and for the first time all day, her words come out unedited, unabridged and very unladylike.

"No." She says with a calmness that surprises her. "I don't give a fuck about being on the top of any _disgusting social food chain._ "  _That's a lie._ Evie ignores the voice that whispers all of her insecurities in the back of her mind and tells her that that is all she cares about. Instead, she puts her fingers up and makes aggressive air quotations in the space around her head, her nail polish glinting in the sunlight coming in through the cracked windows of the classroom as she parrots Mal's words back at her.

This classroom was one of the only classrooms with windows and they'd only been put there after someones _Weird Sciences_ projects blew up one of the walls. The entire school itself was a just a giant repurposed tomb that no one knew how far it went down. Lady Tremaine's classroom was on the first floor. The windows of her classroom looked out onto the always foggy, always creepy, overgrown graveyard the surrounded the school. Each tombstone had had it's original markings worn away and now bore new symbols and words carved into them by graduating seniors. The graveyard and tomb outdated the school and the Isle's population by hundreds of years, having been there long before King Adam's royal decree. Very few of the villains who had died since they'd all been revived and banished here had actually been buried in this graveyard. Most had ended up in the new, far smaller graveyard across the island.

"Maybe I do just want to be your friend." She stomps her foot and _yeah_ , she knows she's being childish and not at all _princess-like_ , but she can't help it. The flood gates between what was burning in her chest and what was making its way past her lips was now open.  "I thought you two seemed like the only tolerable, interesting people around. Excuse me." She puts her hands on her hips with a huff of air, the anger finally melting away from her pretty features. She sinks her teeth into her bottom lip to calm her nerves as her eyes return to the mark carved into the table in front of the three of them.

"The princess has some bite to her, huh, Mal?" Jay murmurs and Evie notes the way his smile crinkles next to his eyes as she looks up at him, making his dreamy chocolate eyes twinkle. "Me-ow."

Mal stares at her for a long time. The smell of sour apple cake and the sounds of laughter and celebrations and the sick feeling of  _envy_ rise up in Mal's memory. She weighs the options she has in front of her for a few moments--- _A. Tell her that she and her pretty smile can fuck right off. B. Let the past go and try being friends with this sweet--too sweet for this horrible place--princess or C. Pretend to let the past go, befriend her and then crush her into a million pieces when she least expects it. C sounds like the most_ fun.Mal thinks as a plot begins to form in her mind.

Mal genuinely smiles for the first time, crossing her leather clad legs, and Evie likes the way her smile crinkles at her nose rather than next to her eyes like Jay's.

"Are you going to invite us to your next birthday party?" Mal asks and at first Evie is caught so off guard by the question she almost forgets to answer. Jay fills the pause with a muffled laugh and a whispered: "She invited  _me_ to her party, Mal. That's where I got Lagan and Derelict." 

"O-oh. Yeah, of course!" Evie mumbles, confusion crinkling her brow. "It's not for another few months, but you're absolutely invited. Both of you." 

Mal rubs her chin with her fingers thoughtfully as she looks Evie up and down again. There's some kind of  _emotion_ hidden in her sparkling emerald eyes as they meet Evie's gaze. Evie can't quite place it, but it tugs at something inside of her.

"Have you ever had a real friend before, Evie?" Mal asks, throwing Evie for another loop. She recovers a little quicker this time. Evie looks up and to the right, glancing up at a large crack in the corner of Lady Tremaine's classroom where a few determined vines had started to grow through. 

"I--I don't really know." Evie says with a shrug.  _No. The answer is no. I've never had a real friend before. Those don't happen often on the Isle, especially when your trapped in a castle for a decade._ "Probably not."

"Well now you have two." Mal says and it feels like pure sunshine explodes inside of Evie's chest. It escapes her body through her lips and teeth, and she's too busy smiling like an idiot to notice the look of confusion on Jay's face and the slow smirk that pulls at Mal's pouty lips.

_*_

"What was that?" Jay asks as soon as they've passed the threshold of Lady Tremaine's classroom. Evie was long gone by the time they had leisurely made there way out of class, ignoring their professor droning out homework assignments behind them. 

"What was what?" Mal feigns innocence, raising her eyebrows at him as they walked side by side down the fluorescently lit hallway, any student in their pathway all but diving out of their way. Graffiti covers every single surface around them, from the haphazardly placed lockers to the cracked ceiling. Headmaster Facilier had stopped paying for the janitors to try and clean all of it up long ago. Money that he scammed off of naive passersby down at the city market and unlucky gambling addicts could only go so far in funding Dragon Hall.

Mal hardly even notices the people coming down the hallway around them or how they jumped out of their path. She only noticed the girls leaning on her locker at the end of the hall. They both look _very_ familiar.

"Mal." Jay says with an odd seriousness to his voice. "I recall you sayin' you'd keep me in on your evil schemes." 

"Are you sure? That doesn't sound like me at all." Mal snorts. Jay grumbles and crosses his arms over his chest, the golden chain glinting around his neck falls into the valley between his chest muscles. Mal rolls her eyes.  _He can be such a baby sometimes._ "Chill." She says as she punches him in the arm lightly. "It not a full blown scheme yet. Just a plot."

"For what?" He asks, still sounding short on patience. "You gonna take your _princess issues_  out on 'er?" 

"No. I'm going to take my Evie issues out on her."  _That sounded dumb. Say something before he can make fun of you._ "I don't like being left out of things. And I'm going to make sure she never forgets that again."

"Ooooh. This is a vengeance plot, huh?" Jay laughs, which is a relief that he's not pouting at her anymore. But the relief is short lived because he laughs in the way that he only does before making fun of her. "She hurt your feelings ten years ago and you're still not over it? Wow, Mal."

"Grudges die hard." Mal replies, her voice low and laced with a growl. "So, do you want to keep making fun of me till I break your nose again or do you want to help me?" She asks as they finally near her locker.

"Hmm..." He rubs his chin, his stubble scratching against his fingertips as he pretends to consider it. "I  _guess_ I could help you out with _this_ one." _  
_

"Perfect." Mal hums. She plasters a smile onto her face as they reach her locker. 

"Hey, Freddie." Jay grins, leaning against the dented (sticky) metal locker pressed against the wall next to Mal's. Freddie, her black and white streaked hair pulled into a low pony tail that cascaded down one of her shoulders and over her puffy red sleeve, gave him a single once over before rolling her eyes.

"And this is Jay. Avoid him at all costs." She says, glancing back over at Evie as she jerked her thumb in Jay's direction.

Freddie's eyes slide from Evie's face to Mal's and then back, the shadows underneath her eyes made more noticeable when she squints at the girls. Evie's gaze is glued to Mal's, a palpable tension between the two of them. Something about the way Mal is smiling at Evie puts Freddie on edge, her fingers pressing against the dagger strapped to her upper thigh underneath the thin red silk and tool of her skirt.

 _That's her mischief smile._  Freddie thinks. That was the smile Mal used to charm her _victims_ into a false sense of security before _crushing_ their souls into an unrecognizable pulp. Freddie had seen it many times while being _friends_ with Mal and Jay.  _Thank god that smile has never been aimed at me._

"Yeah, we've met." Evie says as she finally tears her gaze away from Mal's. "We have _Evil Schemes and Nasty Plots_ together. With Mal." 

"Oh yeah, Mal's Tremaine's _star pupil_ in that class." Jay says, his voice pitched low and gravely as he leans closer to Freddie, winking when her yellow-green eyes finally met his gaze. She crinkled her nose and her amaranth lips curled upward into a sneer.

"Yep." Mal says and she steps closer to Evie. Evie curses herself as she forgets how to breathe again, trapped underneath Mal's stare again. She's so distracted by the way Mal is looking at her that she barely hears what she says until Mal's snaps her fingers in front of her face. "Earth to Evie. Get out of the fucking way." She growls, but there isn't that much bite to her voice.

 _Mal's got a soft spot? No way._ Freddie notes as she pushes Jay's face away with her hand.

"Oh, sorry." Evie says and she sidesteps out of Mal's way and right into Freddie. Evie trips over her own feet and Freddie's and they both go face first into Jay's chest. He hardly budges an inch as the girls crash into him. Mal rolls her eyes at the scene as she opens her locker with a turn of the dial and a hard _THCLANG!_ of her fist against the already dented metal.

"Woah, woah, ladies. There is enough of me to go around." Jay grins, grabbing Freddie's elbow and Evie's shoulder to balance the stumbling girls.

"Ew." Is all Freddie says as she shakes free of his grasp. "On that gag-worthy note: I've gotta jet. See you in Unnatural Biology, Evie?" 

"Yeah! See you later, Freddie." Evie smiles at her over Jay's shoulder, waving after her as she turns on her _uber-cute black and white wedge heels_ and disappears into the bustling crowd of students. Evie then finds herself alone, again, with Jay and Mal. She laughs a bit awkwardly as she steps out of Jay's personal space. "Sorry about that." She mumbles.

 _And I'm alone with Jay and Mal again. Play it cool. Play it cool. Play it ice cold, Evie._ She thinks desperately. She laughs a bit awkwardly as she steps backward out of Jay's personal space. "Sorry about that." She mumbles.

"Don't worry about it, gorgeous." Jay grins, stepping back into Evie's space. Evie notices instantly that his eyes lack the normal predatory vibe that most boys have when they flirt with her like this. She also notices quickly that his twinkling eyes keep flickering away from her gaze and over her shoulder at Mal.  _Is he trying to make her jealous? Are they an item or something?_

"Leave her alone, Jay." Mal says, a bored monotone to her voice. 

"Nah. I think this little princess might like me." He grins at Evie, but there's humor playing across his expression when he looks at her and Evie can't help but giggle as he leans closer, his face only a few inches away from Evie's. Jay doesn't fight it as his smile grows a little wider at the lilting sound of her laughter. He'd dare anyone else to try.

Evie's laughter was the most vivid detail about her that Jay could remember from when they were children. Her laughter and her hair. Jay didn't know if he remembered the sound so well because it was the last thing he saw her doing; _glimpses, in between dancing legs, his father tugging on his arm, of a grinning smiling little girl on a rickety throne._ Or if it was because her laughter had been the soundtrack to some of his fondest memories.

"Leave. Her. Alone. Jay." Mal says again, and she doesn't sound bored this time. _No_ , she sounds deadly serious and that makes both of them stop smiling. Jay looks up, peering around Evie's head, and Evie can't see it, but she assumes Mal makes some kind of gesture or something, because Jay sighs heavily, his chest deflating for a few moments, before he took a few steps away from Evie, hands held up.

"Alright, alright. Jeeze." He says. "I'm going to  _Advanced Acrobatic Get-Aways_. Catch you on the flip side, ladies." He melts into the crowd in a blink of the eye and-- _Shit...I'm alone...with Mal...ice cold ice cold ice cold ice cold._ _  
_

Even with dozens of other students speed walking--or leisurely strolling--to make it to their next class, Evie felt absolutely alone and  _exposed_ when she turned around and found Mal already staring at her.

"Next class?" Mal asks conversationally, closing her locker with a  _clang_ that makes Evie jump. Her cheeks turn red in embarrassment as Mal snorts at her and raises her eyebrows. Evie notices the same symbol that was carved into Mal's table spray painted on the surface of her locker in a bright purples, greens and a almost sparkly black when she glances away from Mal's intense gaze. Next to the dragon symbol was another tag, one Evie had seen painted all over the crowded streets of the Isle.  _Long live evil_ written beneath a very recognizable silhouette. Evie swallowed a focused her bag, a dark blue, red lined messenger bag hanging off of her shoulder.

"Uh..." Evie pops the golden clasp of her bag open, shoving her hand into it and rustling around for a few seconds before fishing out a folded and slightly crumpled piece of paper. "Selfishness 101/"Selfies" with Gothel." She reads.

"Great. She always shows up ten minutes late so we've got some time to kill." Mal says as she slips the straps of her backpack onto her shoulders and grabs Evie's wrist, tugging her down the hall without any further explanation. 

"I..uh...Okay." Evie stutters and silently curses herself for sounding so dumb every single time Mal talks to her. Something about the way Mal had said  _kill_ and the feeling of her warm fingers wrapped around Evie's slender wrist made the rosy haze clouding Evie's brain worse. "Where are we going?" She manages to ask.

"You'll see." Mal says, throwing a smirk over her shoulder at Evie. Evie barely stops herself from saying _"I...uh...okay."_ again.

Mal drags Evie past a few classrooms, one that smells suspiciously like a certain herb Evie was _vaguely_ familiar with, and another room that an odd green light was spilling out of. The light almost looked like a liquid, as if Evie could bottle some of it up if she wanted to. (She would want to if that were possible. What new doors could  _liquid light_ open for her in her chemistry projects...that she only used to make better shampoos and face creams of course.)

"Watch your step." Mal says as they raced down the crumbling stone staircase that plummeted to the 3rd floor. Evie almost screamed when she looked up from the back of Mal's head and saw, standing on the landing between the two descending staircases, Maleficent. 

Or at least a statue version of her. And _dragon_ Maleficent none the less. It was an incredibly realistic portrayal, except for the fact that it was all a muted grey stone rather than the black, toxic greens and dark purples that she actually was. Stone fire tumbled out from between the statues massive, toothed jaws and made up the platform for the dragon to stand on.

"Woah." Evie breathes as her eyes scan over the intricately carved scales and the details of the dragon's face. The claws looked razor sharp and the mouth looked like it could start moving at any moment. The eyes, even though they were made of stone, looked the most like they could come alive. Evie shivered at the thought.

"Yeah. Let's go." Mal said shortly, tugging on Evie's arm again. Her grasp slipped a little bit and her fingers slid into Evie's warm palm. Evie's eyebrows shot up her forehead as she stumbled down the next flight of stairs. Mal seemed to be ignoring the fact that she was now holding Evie's  _slightly sweaty_ hand, keeping her gaze trained forward. Evie wasn't going to let her. She'd been letting Mal dominant their newly rekindled friendship all day. _No_ , now Evie was going to guide it. Just a little bit. She wiggled her fingers until she managed to slip them into the spaces between Mal's, jogging a bit to match her stride with the shorter girl's.

"Seriously, though. Where are we going?" Evie asks, her eyes flickering away from the shadowy hallway stretched out in front of them and over to Mal's face. A small shock zapped up Evie's spine when she noticed the flush coloring Mal's pale cheeks in the warm light of the hall. Mal didn't meet her gaze like she normally did, didn't challenge her into another game of eye contact chicken. Instead she kept her gaze glued to the stone floor underneath their feet, her bottom lip trapped between teeth. Down on the 3rd floor, the halls were lit with torches rather than fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling like the upper floors. The torches were placed in little coves, up high above their heads and anyone's grabby, pyromaniac hands. 

"The auditorium." Mal said, her voice restrained and calculated. Evie had gained a little bit of her courage and confidence from seeing Mal look even vaguely flustered, and she couldn't stop herself from pushing a little more.

"Oh? Hopefully no one sees us sneaking in together. Can you imagine the rumors?" Evie grins when Mal's gaze snaps over to her. And Evie never thought a death threat could be delivered only with ones eyes, but Mal proved that it definitely could be. It only made Evie grin a little wider. 

 _Ms. Big Bad and green eyed might not be so bad after all._ Evie thought as Mal's eyes scanned over her features, looking for the fear and regret that just wasn't there.

"I don't care what anyone in this school has to say about me." Mal says as she turns back to the torch lit hall in front of them. Evie could just barely see to the end of the stone hallway, two enormous polished marble pillars standing there, looming in the darkness. In between the pillars stood a large metal door. It wasn't like the scratched wooden doors of the classrooms around them. No, this door had an air of **_OFF LIMITS_** about it, from the industrial hinges to the bars over the tiny square window. "Making out with you in the auditorium would probably be the least salacious rumor about me." Evie snorts at that.  _Mother would smack me fore that. But then again, if she saw me anywhere near Mal, she'd smack me. If she knew I was flirting with her she'd murder me. Brutally._

"What?" Mal asks, defensiveness already rising in her voice.

"Nothing." Evie laughs again as she squeezes Mal's hand a little. "I doubt the rumor would stay  _just_ us making out." Evie's bravery was starting to lean into arrogance (or maybe hubris at this point.) and she knew it. This was not going to end well. Evie felt like she was pulling on a rubber band. She knew it was going to snap back and hurt her, but she couldn't help but stretch it as far as she could.

"Probably not." Mal nods.

Her boots come to a scuffling stop in front of two enormous wooden doors so suddenly that Evie almost runs right into Mal. Evie turns her head to look at the doors when Mal squeezes her hand. They're beautiful, truly. They were probably the only things in the school that hadn't been carved in or painted on or completely destroyed. No, each of the doors were pristine. They were made of a dark polished oak, golden inlays pressed deeply into the wood in the shape of thorny vines creeping up the doors' surfaces. Evie loved them. She absolutely loved them. Her hand reflexively started reaching for her sketchbook, wanting to commit the details to paper and ink so that she could incorporate them into her next garment. _Or line of garments_. But then Mal was fishing a golden key out of her pocket, slipping it into the rusted lock and twisting it until a muted _cl_ _unk_ echoed through the empty hall. Mal looked at the side of Evie's face until her warm brown eyes met her gaze. Mal grinned at her, something dangerous sparkling in curve of her lips as she winked at the blushing girl next to her.

 _How can someone so angry and terrifying be so...attractive._ Evie thought, fighting to keep her expression neutral as Mal turned back toward the door.

Mal pushed against the dignified double dark wood doors with one hand. They swung open with ease, squeaking a little on the rusted hinges, revealing an enormous (and dark) auditorium behind them. Chilly air rushed out of the room, ruffling Evie's skirt as they both took a step across the threshold. The tented ceiling was so high above their heads that Evie couldn't even see it in the shadowy darkness as she glanced up in wonderment. A sea of dusty red velvet seats filled the room around them, whispering of crowds and shows past. The aisle that spanned out in front of them, a stripe of clear space right down the middle of the grand room led straight down to an elevated stage, several meters into the darkness from where Mal and Evie stood. Beautiful red velvet curtains cascaded down from high above, hiding the actual stage from view. Two colonnades lined the walls, glorious Corinthian pillars rising into the darkness to support a roof still just out of Evie's sight. She could just barely make out the details carved into the arches between pillars and the mosaics decorating the entablature. Faces of villains and sidekicks, engraved into golden plates embedded into the entrablature between each pillars, stared back at her from the dark. Evie let out a audible gasp at the sight of it all. 

"Woah." She breathed. "Like, really...woah."

"Like totally." Mal mocks. Evie rolls her eyes and squeezes Mal's hand as if to be a silent reminder that she was still holding Evie's. 

"Come here often?" Evie smiles when Mal looks at her, probably to glare. It's a little too dark for Evie to see all of Mal's micro expressions as they dance across her pallid face, but she thinks she'd be able to see the smile Mal flashed at her in return even in absolute pitch darkness.

"Yeah..." She says with a strange wistfulness to her voice that Evie hadn't heard in many, many years. "It's kind of Jay an I's little secret..." She takes a step into the room and Evie follows without even thinking about it.

"Really? And you're letting me in on it on my first day?" Evie's smile brightens and Mal wants to hit her. _She needs to knock this "I'm a super nice, super sweet, super cute--super annoying princess" thing off._ Mal thinks as her pink lips press together into a tight line.  _It's fucking annoying and I hate her._ And a little voice in the back of her head says that maybe she doesn't. _Maybe I should just forget all about something that happened a decade ago and start fresh with Evie. That me and Evie could be real friends...or something.  
_

_Attachment is weakness._ Her mom's voice booms in her head, silencing the smaller one that Mal thinks might be her conscience. She isn't sure. She doesn't hear it often.

"Don't let it go to your head, Princess." Mal says as she tugs her hand free of Evie's grasp. She pretends not to notice the way Evie frowns. "You don't have a key so it doesn't really matter if you know about it or not." Mal says as she walks past a few more rows of plush chairs. Evie almost jumps ten feet into the air when the doors _SLAM!_ shut behind them. 

"They do that." Mal says with a shrug as Evie gives her an alarmed, panicked look. "Keep up." Mal says as she trudges further into the shadowy auditorium. Her footsteps echoed off of the walls as she runs her fingers along the seats.

"So, if you don't care about me knowing about this place, why did you bring me here?" Evie asks as she jogs to catch up with Mal, her eyes trained on the back of her head. She wonders if she could convince Mal to let her braid her hair sometime soon. Her fingers itch to run through her silky purple locks and Evie has to shove her hands into the pockets of her dress to keep herself from fidgeting.  _Princesses don't fidget._ Her mother had never said that, but it just didn't seem like they would. Evie did. She did all the time. So she kept her fingers busy with her makeup, or her chemistry sets that she'd steal from the market and hide from her mother beneath her bed, or her sketchbook and pencils and her precious sewing kit and  _mostly_  purchased fabric collection.

"Why do you ask so many questions?" Mal stops and whirls around on her heels so quickly that Evie actually runs right into her this time. Mal's nose collides with Evie's collarbone and she's instantly struck by how she smells. Cinnamon and apples swirl through her memory and bring back images of long castle hallways and the sounds of shared laughter and a smiling blue haired little girl kissing her nose and---

"Oh, fu--er...sorry." Evie skitters back a few steps. Mal looks unaffected and even a little bored, as she usually did, when Evie nervously glanced up at her. If she had looked at her moments before, she would have seen the look of angry panic that had stained her expression. "I...I don't know. This is my first day. Don't people ask a lot of questions on their first days?" Evie stutters, nervously adjusting her leather jacket. She worries her scarlet lip between her teeth--another nasty habit her mom would smack her for if she were here--while Mal stares at her.

"I guess. But knock it off. Not everyone in this school is going to be swayed by that pretty face of yours." Mal says as she turns back around, letting Evie breathe freely again. "They'll eat you alive if they smell even a drop of blood in the water."

"Do we go to school with sharks?" Evie asks as she follows Mal up a short set of wooden stairs leading up to the stage.

"Yes." Mal responds simply. 

Evie laughs at that. She can't help it. She knows Mal's trying to be serious. Trying to make her be serious, but she can't help it. Today is the first day she's been able to mix with kids her age other than the barely weekly trips her mother would allow her to make to the market. And there people ignored her or avoided her. They all knew she'd been marked by Maleficent herself as a pariah. But ten years later, the curse is finally lifted. It wasn't an actual curse. There isn't magic here on the Isle. But it was a social curse. No one crosses Maleficent without consequences. Everyone knew that.

"Laugh all you want, but trust me. A walking, talking _charming, pretty, new girl_ archetype isn't going to keep you safe around here forever." Mal says as she disappears around a corner and into the folds of the heavy red velvet curtain. 

"If you call me pretty a few more times, you're never going to get rid of me." Evie says through a bright smile. She tilts her head as she stares at the place where Mal disappeared into. "What do you me ' _archetype_ '?" Evie asks, trying the foreign word out on her tongue.

"One sec." Mal says, and she sounds muffled, like she's got something in her mouth. Evie could only guess what she was doing.

A few long moments later, blinding lights high above Evie's head flickered on with a few dull _boom, boom, booms._ Evie blinks rapidly against the glaring golden lights until she could see the auditorium that had transformed underneath them. She stands at the edge of the stage as the room takes in a new breathe of life. The red velvet of the chairs and curtains looking even more vivid and beautiful in full light. The tented ceiling goes up even higher than she expected, carved white marble statues---scenes of villains and sidekicks in their prime---accented with gold were inlaid into the dark stone. Along the lower part of the ceiling, gorgeous murals sprawl out across them, probably the only painting in the entire school that wasn't graffiti. The murals are painted around the giant crystal and gold chandelier that hangs in the middle of the ceiling, from the highest point. The murals are set into the ceiling like flower petals that surround the tented roof like it's the seed head of a sunflower. Each petal depicts one of the _"Big ten villains"._   Evie recognizes Maleficent instantly. And then there's Jafar, back when he looked a lot more like Jay, his long black cape draped from his shoulders elegantly. 

_That looks really good. Maybe I'll make something like that for Jay. And somehow convince him to wear it._

Shan Yu's yellow irises, set into darkness of his eyes like golden jewels, glare down at Evie angrily from his petal, his hawk's wings spread out above his head like a crown. Captain Hook smirks next to him, and his smile looks so much like the pretty Jewish girl in her _Advanced Vanities_ class and--- _Ooooh. The super cute red pirate coat and cravat makes sense now._

Gaston's grinning face is just as recognizable as Maleficent's scowl from where he's painted, accents of gold sparkling in the collar of his shirt. Evie remembered his ridiculous strong man act at her birthday party ten years ago--and of course she remembered the Gaston twins flirting with her this morning.

Mother Gothel's wide blue eyes glare down at Evie, as if reminding her that she should be running to class rather than wandering around the third floor with Mal. A puff of painted smoke billowed upward from the sneering mouth of Cruella De Vil herself just a few feet across the ceiling from Ursula's grin. The sea witch's tentacles creep around the carved golden frame of her petal. Dr. Facilier, looking much younger than he did this morning during her orientation, smiled down at her from a familiar liquid green haze. Evie traps her lip between her teeth as she peers up into his eyes.

 _So that's where Freddie gets the intense stare._ Dr. Facilier had hardly looked at Evie during her orientation. He'd been too busy mumbling about her class schedule and his friends that he needed to call back before they started any trouble from the _other side._ But now, looking up at him in his prime, with the lighter shadows around his eyes and the much cleaner and precise shaving of his face, Evie could see the resemblance to Freddie and her mysterious grin.

There's a few other villains that she doesn't recognize on the surrounding sepals, a few that she does and--Evie flinches a little when her eyes meet her mothers. 40 feet in the air and 20x bigger and painted onto a ceiling and Evie still gets the same feeling of lead weights in the pit of her stomach. Evie shivers, wraps her arms around herself as she stares up into her mother's unforgiving glare and tries not to notice how much she looked like Evie back in her day. The similarities aren't as obvious as Jafar and Jay's, but the family resemblance was definitely there between her mother and herself. Evie cringes a little and---

"You okay, cutie?" Mal asked, and Evie didn't know if it was the fact that she'd just suddenly appeared behind her, or if it was the cold hand on her back or the way her voice sounded genuinely concerned (or the pet name) that made Evie jump and squeak. Either way, it was embarrassing. And Mal laughing at her did not help the heat splashing pink across her cheeks.

"Fine." Evie grumbled, trying to relax her posture. It was hard when she could feel Mal's heated gaze on the back of her head. She didn't turn around to look at Mal, she just knew she'd be smirking at her. Or looking generally smug. She usually was. Evie almost jumped again when Mal's hands settled on her shoulders and her body heat felt much, _much_ closer suddenly.

"Come on." Mal murmurs into her ear. And then her hands and body heat leave Evie just as suddenly as they had appeared and Evie has to fight not to complain about it.

 _Was that really necessary?_  Evie thinks as the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She still let's Mal grab her hand again and tug her past the thick scarlet curtains, a plume of dust sparkling into the air like fairy dust every time she touched the velvet. Their footsteps echoed across the warmly lit stage as Mal tugged her forward.

"Is this where you take all the girls?" Evie jokes, peering around at her surroundings. There are pieces of old play sets, racks of dusty clothes, broken band and orchestra instruments and a collection of various tools and such piled against the back wall. In the center of the stage, right behind Mal as she turned around to glare at Evie, was a large wooden easel, a white cloth draped across the canvas resting on it. Empty paint tubes, broken brushes, crushed spray paint cans and pencils sharpened down until less than inch of them was left peppered the floor around it.

"Just you so far, but we'll see." Mal says as she drops Evie's hand again. 

"Why are you showing me this?" Evie asks, eyeing Mal curiously.

Mal shrugs and Evie thinks that's all of the answer she's going to get out of her until she opens her mouth and says something she didn't expect.

"You're new. This place has always been a sanctuary to Jay and I. Maybe you could use it too. Or whatever" Evie blinked rapidly.  _Did she actually just say that?_

 _Did I actually just say that?_  Mal thinks as she turns around to avoid seeing Evie's face light up. 

"That's....really sweet, Mal." Evie says as the corners of her mouth curl into a grin. 

"Yeah, yeah. Tell anyone about it and I'll make your life a living hell myself." She says. Her words don't dampen Evie's smile in the slightest. 

"Sure you will." And Evie feels that sensation of pulling a rubber band back again.

"Excuse me?" Mal turns around to look at her, her eyebrows raised and her eyes narrowed.  _Quite while you're ahead, Evie. Let go of the rubber band. Mal is going to kick my ass if I pull anymore._

"You don't hate me." Evie says and she's still smiling and Mal still really wants to punch her when she looks that sweet.

"I didn't say that." Mal says, keeping her voice calm and collected and, as always, vaguely indifferent.

"You didn't have to." Evie takes a step toward her and the expression on Mal's face flickers slightly.

"I think you're reading too much into me bringing you here. Maybe I just didn't want to be alone." Mal says as she crosses her arms and levels a killer glare on Evie. Evie takes another step forward. The rubber band stretches further.

"Maybe." Evie shrugs. "Or maybe you wanted to be alone with me."  _Rubber bands hurt, Evie. Stop it._ And Evie knows she should listen to that sensible voice in her head rather than take another step toward the increasingly annoyed looking girl in front of her. But her left boot hits the polished stage floor and brings her even closer to Mal.

"Maybe." Mal's eyes lock onto Evie's and Evie feels the weight of a challenge press down on her again. "Or maybe I wanted to know a little more about you so it'll be easier to destroy you."  _At least that's what I'm telling myself._

"Hey! I thought we were friends." Evie actually looks a little offended for a few moments.

"Sure. But someday we might not be. You might forget to invite me to another one of your birthday parties." Mal says and the spite in her voice is palpable. Evie stares at her for a few moments.  _Is she serious? Is she still upset about that? I wanted to invite her!_

"I won't." Evie says. And she sounds so genuine it makes her cringe. 

"Whatever. It doesn't really matter to me." Mal says as she turns around again. She reaches up and pulls the white drop cloth off of the easel, revealing the canvas underneath. Evie recognizes the picture painted across it immediately. 

"That's...that's really good." Evie says as she takes a few more steps closer. "Did you paint that?"

"Yeah." Mal replies in that Devil-may-care tone. "Tell anyone about it and I'll---"

"Murder me in some gruesome way, or torture me socially for the rest of my life. Yeah, I got it." Evie waves her off. She's so caught up in drinking in every detail of the painting that she doesn't notice the way Mal glances at her. From the warm brown eyes to the jawline to the long black hair to the smirk, it's so unmistakably Jay it almost looks like a photo that's had some kind of paint filter put on it or something. Mal spins around on her heels, her boots squeaking against the polished obsidian floor. Evie's eyes widen as they meet Mal's. There's an ambiguous intensity burning in them that short circuits Evie's brain as Mal steps closer to her.

 _Note to self: Less than four inches of space from Mal=Very very hard to breath._ Evie thinks as she stares at Mal, watching as her bright green eyes flicker down Evie's features to her rosy lips.

"Yeah." Mal murmurs. She takes a step forward and Evie is so certain that she's going to kiss her she almost closes her eyes for it. But then Mal is brushing passed her and her light footsteps are echoing away from behind her. "Keep up, Princess." She calls as the curtain rustles.

_*_

"Hey, what did you mean when you called me an archetype?" Evie asks, eyeing the Maleficent statue as they passed it again.

"An archetype is...like a cliche, I guess. It's just a very typical example or category for someone's personality." Mal explains, using that bored tone of hers again.

"And what did you say mine was?" Evie asks, looping her arm around Mal's. Evie grins when Mal glances at her.

_If anyone sees us so friendly...Jay will never let me hear the end of it..._

"Stop that." Mal pulls her arm out of Evie's warm grasp.

"Sorry." Evie tries not to be a little hurt by the way Mal rebuffs her, but she feels the sting of it anyway.

 _Don't be such a crybaby._ Evie thinks as she presses her lips into a thin line and stares straight ahead.

"Anyway." Mal quickly changes the subject as they turn a corner and head down the familiar left hand hallway of the 2nd floor. "Freddie, for example, is the textbook archetype of the _Perfect Daughter_." Mal gestures with her hands and that bored tone slips from her voice. "Harriet Hook fits cleanly into the Adrenaline Junky archetype. Claudine Frolo is clearly a _Conspiracy Theorist_ archetype personified. Never mention anything about aliens or how King Beast got elected around her." Evie watches Mal as she continues speaking, enraptured by the light in her eyes and the ways she gestures animatedly the more she talks. Mal looks over at Evie and seems to become aware of herself again. She puts her hands back down and catches her bottom lip in between her teeth. "I don't know about you. I thought you were the average _Charming New Girl_...but maybe not."

"Are you saying I'm not charming?" Evie feigns offense as they pass Mal's locker again.  _Rubber band, Evie._

"You're too annoying for me to be charmed by you, Princess." Mal says.  _That a lie._ "But, no, it's not that. It just doesn't fit you anymore." Mal's brow creases for a moment and then she shrugs. "Maybe you're like Jay." She says as they turn another corner. "Maybe you jump between two archetypes." Mal stops dead in her tracks suddenly again and Evie is about to complain when she's shoved backwards and her shoulder blades hit the hard metal of a row of lockers. Evie raises her eyebrows when a warm hand is placed over her mouth. Mal catches her eyes and puts a finger over her lips, pointing around the corner. "Hall monitor." She whispers. "I cannot afford another blue slip and you won't want one on your first day either." She murmurs as she lets her hand slip off of Evie's lips. 

"Huh?" Evie whispers breathily. Mal tries to ignore that she's shoved the two of them into a tight corner between a haphazardly placed row of lockers and the graffitied wall as she listens for the hall monitors footsteps. She could back up out of Evie's space, in fact that would have been the smart thing to do, but Evie's gaze is locked onto hers and if she does that now it'll be like she's backing down, and her delicate sense of superiority would not survive that. 

"If you get more than 3 blue slips for being in the halls without a pass, then you're forced to do...community service." Mal shudders at the thought. "Freddie got caught more than three times and she had to...read to children." The disgust in Mal's voice was as vivid as ever. Evie couldn't help but smile at her.

"What?" Mal's eyebrows drew together, crinkling the space between them as she stared up at Evie. 

"Nothing." Evie grins a little wider as she brushes past her and leans around the corner. "He's gone." She announces. 

_*_

They arrive at the door of their Selfishness 101/Selfies classroom just as the bell tolls loudly from the dragon mouthed speakers. 

"Great." Evie mumbles as she and Mal step out of the way of the stream of kids escaping the room. "Skipped my third class of my first day to school. Mother will be proud." Evie grins and theirs a tone of wickedness to it that interests Mal.

"Mmm, I'm sure she will be." Mal says and there is a tone of contempt in her voice.

"Evie?" A familiar voice snaps their attentions away from each other for the first time in the past hour. "Evie, hey!" A shock of bright white hair pops up in the crowded hall, a bright eyed boy dodging bodies as he waved vigorously at Evie.

"Oh, hey, Carlos!" Evie waves back. Carlos scampered up to the pair, sending a wary look at Mal before grinning brightly at Evie. 

"Why weren't you in Selfishness 101?" He asks, leaning down to pick up some of the papers that had fallen loose from his arms. All of his books, papers and notebooks were held tightly to his chest by his freckle marked arms.

_Note to self: Remember to make Carlos a backpack. Black, red and white._

"I...got lost." Evie said slowly, forcing herself to avoid glancing over at Mal, who was now staring intimidatingly at Carlos.

"Oh! W-well I'll get you a map of the school from the office later, okay?" Carlos spares another flickering glance at Mal. She had always made him really nervous, so much so that she'd intimidated him into doing all of her homework almost he entirety of their 7th grade year. "Maybe I'll bring it to your house tonight and we can study?" Another nervous smile spreads across his lips.

 _Ugh, I want to hug him until he stops looking around like someone is going to come out of no where and punch him in the stomach._ Evie thinks as she returns Carlos' smile warmly.

"Beat it, kid." Mal snarls. "She doesn't want to hang out with a loser like you." 

Carlos' eyes widen impossibly large for a moment before he dips his head and nods, hugging his things closer to his body. "O-okay." 

"Wait!" Evie says suddenly as Carlos starts to scurry away. "You can come to my house tonight, Carlos. I'll see you then." Carlos looks up at her, scanning her face for any sign of deception, and then nods rapidly, his smile returning.

"Okay! I'll see you then, Evie!" He practically skips away, weaving through the crowd easily.

Evie waited until she couldn't see his head anymore before she turned back to Mal. Mal's arms were crossed and her jaw was set, _hard._  Evie resisted the urge to tell her that was bad for her teeth. Mal would probably punch her in the nose if she did. Mal didn't meet her gaze. Her eyes stayed locked onto Evie's collarbones and her intense gaze made it seem like she was trying to bore holes through them only with the heat of her gaze.

"Don't talk to him like that." Evie said firmly and she feels the rubber band stretching in a whole new way. Mal's nose crinkled for a split second, as if she was fighting to keep a tide of rage back. 

"He's pathetic, Evie." Mal growls, finally meeting Evie's gaze. "He's barely good enough to be a henchman!" She reasoned, as if trying to convince Evie of Carlos' inadequacies.

"Who are we talkin' about?" Jay asks, creeping up from behind Mal. Neither of them break their eye contact, but Evie answers his question.

"Carlos De Vil." Evie says. "And he is not pathetic. He's really smart." Evie says. Mal would have rolled her eyes at that if she weren't so busy staring Evie down. Evie wasn't relenting though and that pissed Mal off.

"Oh, the little guy?" Jay asks as he watches the two of them nervously. "He's pretty alright."

"So what? He's weak and small and useless." Mal barks back, her voice lowering as she fights to keep her tone even. " _You_ shouldn't associate with him."

"You don't get to tell me who I get to associate with!" Evie blurts out, and she regrets it instantly when she sees the anger start to surface on Mal's face, her pale skin flushing. The rubber band is stretching thin and Evie can feel it. She starts to notice all the people gathering around them and the way Jay had started to shift uncomfortably.

"Excuse me?" Mal steps forward and they're much closer than they were the last time she'd gotten upset with Evie, and this time there wasn't a table in between them. "What did you say?"

Evie knows it's a test, a challenge, to see if she'll back down or if she'll stick to her guns about opposing Mal. It's a mistake, she knows it is, everyone around her knows it is, but she repeats herself. She yanks on the rubber band.

"You don't get to tell me who to associate with, Mal." Evie says, forcing her voice to come out calm and controlled. _Calmness in all situations, Genevieve. The mark of a true princess._  "If _I_ want to hang out with Carlos, _I_ will." And Evie absolutely hates that she catches the brief flicker of hurt on Mal's face. It didn't help that it was placed between the expressions of _angry_ and _I'm going to brutally murder you in this hallway right now in front of all of these people._

"Evie..." Jay's probably giving her some kind of warning look or gesturing wildly for her to cut it out, but Evie's eyes are still staring back at Mal's. She's still pulling on the rubber band.

"Fine!" Mal stomps her foot. "If you want to hang out with that garbage, fine!" She snarls and she can feel it when it happens. When her eyes go from their normal light emerald to their burning bright green. She can see the shock on Evie's face too. 

Evie had heard stories of the Faery family's glowing eyes, but she'd never seen them before. Evie, much like many others on the island, had always assumed that the stories were just silly rumors. But seeing definitely was believing. She stared into Mal's fiery green eyes for as long as she could before she couldn't take it anymore.

"Fine!" She shouted back "I will!" She glanced up at Jay who looked awfully worried. He probably felt the rubber band between them stretching too.

"Yeah? Well don't expect Jay and I to keep hanging around you if you do." Mal barked angrily. 

"Seriously?" Evie asked incredulously, her eyes flickering back and forth between Mal and Jay.

"Him or us." Mal put the ultimatum into words, her eyes finally returning to their calmer green. Mal's pulling on the rubber band now too. Evie looked down at her feet, worrying her lip between her teeth. She'd worked so hard to even get Mal and Jay to talk to her this morning... _Am I really going to throw that all away for Carlos?_

Mal stared at Evie and she was between wanting to punch her in the face rather than wait for her to decide and wanting to pull her into a hug and beg her not to reject her again. But that would be pathetic and weak and she'd have to back down and she just couldn't do that. Her pride wouldn't let her. She kept a firm hold on the rubber band. 

"Fine, Mal. If that what you want..."  _It's not._ "I choose Carlos."

"Fine." Mal says, her calmness sounded artificial even to herself. 

"Fine." Evie said and she blinks the tears away from her eyes.  _Don't be a crybaby, Evie._

"Fine!" Mal growled, her anger bubbling up again. Evie shakes her head and fight to keep the sadness creeping through her chest like vines out of her expression.

"Goodbye, Mal. See you later, Jay." She said and turned on her heels. She feels it when her grip finally slips on the rubber band.

_SNAP!_

Evie walked away, pushing past the rows of people that had gathered around them, without looking back. She didn't want to see Mal's face. She just wanted to find somewhere to be alone. 

Mal didn't stop staring at the place where Evie had been until half of the crowd around them had dispersed and Jay tapped carefully on her shoulder. 

"Come on, Mal." He said and he was talking so carefully. He wasn't poking fun at her or sending any sarcastic comments her way. He was handling her with silk gloves like a bird with a broken wing and that made her want to scream.

 _I can't let this happen again. I can't let her make me feel like this again...I've got to...say something that'll make this better..._ Mal thinks. She takes in a deep breath, trains her expression into a mask of indifference and clenches her fists. She turns on the spot, a smug smile playing across her lips as she lets out a barely convincing laugh. It's sounds fabricated, like it had been taken from the scene of a movie and canned, always ready to be used in case of emergency. 

"Don't worry, Jay." She grins wickedly and Jay looks at her, worry tinging his features. "This is all part of the plan." She laughs and it sounds so much like her mothers laugh it makes her sick.

_*_

"Evie. Come on, Eves. Come back to me." 

_Oh good, I'm not dead._

"Evie? That's it. Come back, honey." 

Evie's eyelashes flutter open and at first the world is just blurs of colors. All she can feel is moistness in her hair, starched sheets against her back and an aching in her chest like she'd just been--- _waterlogged._

Evie almost breaks her nose on Ben's shoulder as her body rocketed upright, her hands clenching into fists again at the memories _flooding_ her mind. She's glad she doesn't bloody the shoulder of his elegant blue blazer, because  _that is such a cute blazer on him,_  but then her hands are crumpling the soft fabric anyway and her eyes are boring into Ben's.

"Mal." She says, her eyes overpowering Ben's wide, baby blues, concern swirling around his expression as he flinches a little under her gaze. It's not a question of where, or if Mal is okay. It's an order, a royal decree. She wants Mal to be by her side right _now._   

"Right here, E." Mal's voice sounds strained as a hand comes to rest on Evie's back, but it soothes Evie instantly anyway. Evie lets go of Ben's shoulders and he looks relieved to see the wild panic in Evie's eyes melt away.

"Mal." Evie says again as she twists around, throwing her arms around Mal's shoulders. Mal makes a stifled groan of pain into the flurry of damp, wavy blue strands of hair that she's found herself buried in. Evie's warm embrace lets up almost instantly. "Oh god, I'm sorry." Evie leans back, looking at Mal, who tries to smile -- _bless her--_ and Evie's eyes scan over her, worry creasing the space between her eyebrows. Her purple hair is ruffled and the bruise across her cheekbone looks bigger and darker than it did last night.

"I'm okay." Mal says carefully. "I'm fine, Evie." She says again when Evie gives her a look and Mal tries to add a little laugh, but even Ben hears the insincerity.

"3 broken ribs isn't fine." Ben murmurs behind Evie. Mal's eyes widen and before she can spout off a string of excuses and question Ben's authority on the definition of ' _Fine_ ', Evie starts coughing. Hard.  _  
_

_Fuck._

Ben's strong hands are on Evie's heaving shoulders instantly as she doubles over and her lungs try to escape her body as she coughs. He's gentle as he pats her back and Evie hates how caring he is, how sweet and nice after everything they'd been through in the past couple of months.

_After everything we've put him through in the past few months._

Ben murmurs " _You're alright. Try to breathe. You're okay, Evie."_ to her as she coughs and her chest burns for air. Mal isn't quite as calm as Ben, she never is, and her fingers are digging into the damp skin of Evie's arm as she whispers ' _Oh, god.'_ s and ' _If you die I will be never forgive you.'_ s.

It takes her a couple tries, but finally Evie sucks in a few breathes of air that stifle the fire burning in her lungs. She straightens up her back, her mothers words echoing in the very back of her head:  _A princess has perfect posture in all situations and predicaments, Genevieve darling._. 

 "What...was that thing?" Evie asks as her hand finds it way into Mal's.

"A siren. The worst kind, too." Ben's voice rumbles in his chest when he talks and Evie finds it oddly comforting. She slips her other hand into his and she's so grateful when he wraps his fingers around it and offers her a little smile. "There hasn't been an attack here in...many years."

"This has happened before?" Mal asks, her hand still holding onto Evie's like if she let go Evie would wash away with all the water in her lungs.

"Sirens used to be a big problem here. I think it's because we're so close to the shore and....uh..." Ben pauses and Mal and Evie know instantly why. Ben always has this expression on his face when he's unsure how to approach a subject around them. It'd been six months since they'd left the Isle, five months of Ben becoming an unquestioned member of their friend group and four months of Ben starting to dig a little deeper into their pasts.

"The Isle?" Mal suggests, resting her chin on Evie's shoulder.

"A convergence of evils." Ben affirms. "My dad believes they were--are attracted to the _'Great Moral Dissonance'_ between the Isle and Auradon." Evie laughs at Ben's impression of his father, which is a mistake, because then she coughing again and Ben and Mal are both patting her back and murmuring a jumble of encouraging words and mild threats.

"The only question is: Why did one of them decide to attack the campus again? And why you two specifically?"Ben says, rubbing the space between Evie' shoulder blades. 

"It seemed pretty fixated on Evie." Mal comments. "It only paid attention to me long enough to back hand me out of it's way."

"Sorry." Evie murmurs and Mal raises her eyebrows. "You always get hurt trying to save me." Evie elaborates as she pulls her hand out of Ben's and gestures to Mal's ribs.

"Hey, we all get hurt trying to save each other." Mal reassures as she loops and arm around Evie's waist and smiles. "That's kind of our thing." Evie laughs and Mal smiles wider.

Ben awkwardly clears his throat. "Anyway, my father called a small meeting between Hercules, Ariel, him and I. Hopefully we'll figure out some way to keep the campus and you safe." Ben stands and gently sets a hand on Evie's shoulder. "Keep each other safe and resting, okay? Call me if anything else---odd happens." He looks over at both of the girls, and for a second looks like hes going to say something else before thinking better of it. He smiles and waves again before slipping out of the door, leaving them alone in the cold school infirmary. 

"So three broken ribs?" Evie asks with a raise of her eyebrows.

_*_

"Please tell me my girlfriend love me more than she loves you." Ben says as Evie twirls over to him, her cheeks aching from the smile that had been permanently installed on her face all night. Yellow and blue lights flash over the refreshment table just a few feet behind where Ben had been standing for the past 40 minutes.

"It's about 54/46." She says as she fills a clear cup with bright pink punch next to him. "I'm the 54%, by the way." She grins at him and he wants to be upset with her for poking fun at something that actually kind of bothers him, but it's hard to be mad at that face. 

"I'll take it." He says with a shrug. She notices the way his shoulders slump a little when they come back down. He's not frowning, but he doesn't usually. He usually always has this tiny echo of a smile on his face, but even that is gone from his gentle face and that worries her.

"Oh come on, Ben!" Evie punches him in the arm. He doesn't budge and inch, just gives her a sideways glance. "She chose good for you. She defied her mother for you. That's a big thing for Mal. Thinking of others and defying her mom."

"She didn't do that just for me." Ben says as he turns around and refills his own punch glass.

"Maybe not, but you're a big reason." Evie sighs. She's never been particularly good at this whole ' _make people feel better about their lives and worries_.' thing, but for Ben she would try.

"She did all of those things for you, too." He says and when he turns to look at her, there's something in his eyes she's never seen before. "You and Carlos and Jay."

 _Oh! Oh. Ooooh. He's jealous._ Evie almost laughs as she steps toward him.

"Awwww." Evie coos, reaching up to pinch his cheeks in between her well manicured fingers. "Someones jealous!" She grins.

"Knock it off, Evie." Ben grumbles, trying to wave her hands away. She doesn't relent. "I'm not jealous...I just...don't know how I feel about my girlfriend having a girlfriend..."

"Wait...what?" Evie's eyebrows shoot up her forehead, yellow and blue party lights highlighting the side of her confused face. Her hands finally stop poking at his flushed cheeks and settle on his broad shoulders.

"She loves you, Evie." He says, and his voice has that sigh to it that he gets when he's explaining something that he's thought about a lot. "A lot. And you love her. And now that you've chosen good and you aren't as....repressed about your feelings...I don't know." He pauses and looks away, embarrassment coloring his cheeks. "This probably sounds silly. I just don't want to get in the way of anything...and I don't want her to be with me just because I'm the first person who ever loved her openly." He babbles. He cuts himself off kind of suddenly and then offers her that little apologetic smile of his, glancing down at his shoes. 

"Ben..." Evie starts. 

"No, no. You don't have to say anything." He puts a hand up. "I need to talk to Mal about this...I just needed to get it out first..." Evie stares at him for a few moments under the flashing lights and thumping music.

"We aren't...We aren't fooling around behind your back or anything, Ben." She says slowly, confusion crinkling her brow.

"I know!" He says, surprise lighting up his face as his wide eyes meet Evie's. "I know that! I didn't think you were." He waves his hands in front of himself. "I'm not saying you two are even destined for a romantic relationship...I just think that Mal needs a little room to grow into her feelings...to figure it all out." He says and there's a look of resignation on his face that breaks Evie's heart.

"So, you're going to break up with her?" Evie asks and tries to ignore the light feeling in her heart when he nods slowly. She leans against the table next to him and glances out to the dance floor where Mal was twirling around with Freddie and Lonnie to a upbeat song.

 _"Ever since I left the city,_  
_You got a reputation for yourself now_  
_Everybody knows and I feel left out"_ The lyrics fill the brief pause in their conversation.

"Not just because of you." He says suddenly. "I just feel like she's been pulling away from me...and I want her to feel free to do whatever she wants without me keeping her chained down. Besides, I should be focusing on my kingly duties."

"Do not say that to her when you break up." Evie says firmly as she puts her hand over his. He glances over at her and she offers her a small smile.

"What should I say?" He asks and the desperation in his voice makes Evie's heart hurt.

"Oh, Ben...I don't--"

"That's okay! I shouldn't have asked you about this..." He puts his cup down on the refreshment table and slips his hand out from under Evie's. "I'm going to go for a walk. I'll see you later, Evie." then he's walking away from her and she's left standing there slack jawed.

 _"You don't need no one else_  
_You don't need nobody else, no_  
_Why you never alone_  
_Why you always touching road_  
_Used to always stay at home, be a good girl_  
_You was in a zone, yeah"_

"What was that about?" A voice asks from behind her. _Doug_.

"I'm not...sure." Evie says, still staring at the door Ben disappeared through. She turned around slowly and offered Doug a halfhearted smile. He sees through it instantly a puts a hand on her shoulder. Evie puts her hand over it and revels in the little bit of comfort it gives her.

"Do you want to dance?" He asks, and he's so sweet and nervous and adorable and Evie wants to hug him and tell him she loves him, because she does. She's been doing a lot of that recently... _loving_. But he'd get the wrong idea and she'd have to explain that she just didn't want a boyfriend right now. Again. She smiles at him anyway.

"Maybe later, Doug." She says and tries not to notice the way he deflates. 

"O-okay." He says and then he looks at her with those puppy dog eyes of his, tucked behind his glasses and she almost decides to take him up on the offer when--

"Hey, E! Come dance with me some more!" Mal all but skips over to them, the gorgeous light pink and white dress Evie had finished mere hours ago for her twirling around her and swaying around her hips as she walked. Mal grinned happily up at her as she leaned on Evie and all of the tension in Evie's shoulders melted away.

"Hi, Mal." Doug pipes up nervously, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Hey, Doug." She flashes him a smile and then turns back to Evie, tugging lightly on her arm. "Come on. You and I have some trust fund jerks to show up out there." 

"I...uh..." Evie spares a glance over at Doug. He give her an understanding smile, but it doesn't make her feel any better. She hesitates, tries to apologize with her eyes, tries to protect his feelings before she hurts them.

"Wow. You can actually feel the awkward." Mal says, groping the air around them comically. Her hands focus on the air in front of Doug specifically and Evie shoots her a look.

"Go dance!" Doug insists with a fake smile.

That was the problem with all the Auradon hero kids. They were all horrible at hiding their emotions, at faking smiles, at pretending the worlds barbs didn't get to them. Maybe that was a good thing. Maybe all the shiny, clean, happy Auradon kids with their big eyes and their tender hearts should never learn to harden their shells. But right now, Evie wished more than anything that Doug's shell was thicker. She wished that he was better at faking because that would make it easier for her to ditch him for the only person in the world she wanted to be around right now. Well, one of the three only people she wanted to be around.

"You can come dance with us!" Evie insists and she can feel Mal's elbow in her ribs, but she ignores it. 

"No, that's okay. I think I'm going to go see what Carlos and Jay are doing over there." He says, jerking his thumb across the room and he's gone before she can say anything else.

 _Smooth, Evie, smooth._ Evie thinks as lets out a long sigh.

"Wow." Mal says next to her.

"Shut up. I'm never talking to a boy again. I'm apparently bad at it now." Evie covers her face with her hands.

"Good thing I'm not a boy then." And Evie can hear the grin in her voice. "Dance with me." And Evie can hear it even better when it's pressed against her ear. She suppresses a shiver and brings her hands down. 

"Fine, fine." She lets a smile slip back onto her face. "If I _have_ to." She says dramatically.

"You do." And with that, Mal drags her into the middle of the crowded, warm dance floor. 

The rest of the night is lost in flashing lights and twirling skirts and possibly spiked punch and a little too much grinding for the party to stay considered PG. But the guilt in the back of Evie's mind never fades. Especially when she wakes up the next morning and reads two texts she never wanted to receive.

_*_

"What's this?" Mal asks when they've inevitably escaped the too starched, too chemically clean smelling infirmary and sneaked back into their own room.

"Huh?" Evie calls from the bathroom. She's assessing the damage in the mirror. There's a bright purple and blue bruise in the center of her chest, _not surprising_ , and a small red gash just above her right eyebrow. Her scarlet bottom lip has a small split rupturing it's silky surface from where her canine tooth had bitten into it when the-- _whatever it was. Siren?_ hit her. 

"This." And Mal's behind her so suddenly she doesn't even have time to button up her shirt. She probably wouldn't have any other time, but the enormous bruise that had bloomed over her sternum and started to creep over the swell of her breasts instantly pulled the attention of Mal's concerned gaze. "Oh, woah. Evie--" 

"I'm fine." Evie cut her off, taking the piece of paper she was holding up out of her fingers. As much as she loved being fussed over, especially by Mal, she didn't want to talk about this. Drowning was one of Mal's _biggest_ fears and Evie had almost drowned on their bedroom floor this morning. Evie could see the panic in Mal's eyes and she didn't want to be the cause of it anymore. "Where'd this come from?" Evie asked as she examined the parchment. It felt handmade between her fingertips and luxurious, looping red letters sprawled across the papers off white surface. She ignored the feeling of Mal's warm fingers grazing over her bruised skin and focused all of her attention on the note. _  
_

_Note to self: Use red ink and handmade paper for the next mysterious message you creepily leave someone. Note to self two: Wear a slightly less revealing bra the next time you get attacked by a monster from the sea and your roommate decides it's her job to inspect the bruises._

"It was sticking out of your bag." Mal gestured to the baby blue clutch Ben had given Evie as a thanks (or a bribe) for becoming his official personal adviser. She had taken it with her to Chad's party last night, but thought she'd lost it during the all out bar brawl. "What does it mean?" Mal asks as Evie's warm brown eyes read it, then read it again, and then again.

"I....I don't know." Evie murmurs under her breath.  _Don't mumble, Genevieve. It's unbecoming of a princess!_ Her mother's voice says somewhere in the back of her mind. "But I think this counts as something weird to tell Ben about." She says as she meets Mal's gaze.

_*_

"I feel the monachopsis in your heart. You'll find the path to your ephtychia when you find us. -P&D." Ben reads aloud. Evie raises her eyebrows at the way he perfectly pronounces the words she doesn't even know the definition or language of.

"Any clue what it means?" Carlos asks from his spot tucked underneath Evie's thick comforter, next to Evie and Mal, who were sitting cross legged facing each other. Carlos is flipping through the handcrafted pages of Evie's sketchbook as the girls flip through one of the  _Auradon Prep: An enchanted history._

"A few." Ben replies simply. He's looking a little sweaty and ruffled, decked out in his tourney gear. Carlos would have been at the tourney practice with him too if he hadn't gotten banned for a week after punching Chad Charming in the middle of a game.

"Want to be anymore vague about it?" Mal grumbles, holding the ice pack Evie had forced her to use to her sore ribs. Evie rewards her every couple of minutes with a bright smile or a whisper compliment or a chaste cheek kiss. At least all of that before Ben had arrived.

"Maybe." Ben gives Mal a mischievous smile. "Okay, okay." He puts his hands up in supplication when Mal starts to stand, murder in her eyes. "Monachopsis means, loosely, the subtle and persisting feeling of being out of place." Ben says. "And ephtychia means, again loosely, happiness in Greek."

Mal snorts and Ben and Evie both turn to look at her in unison, eyebrows raised. Carlos is still fully focused on the colorful pages of Evie's sketchbook, only humming every so often. Mal is shaking her head and smiling with this odd look in her sparkly green eyes.

"Well, that's just silly. This note is clearly just some misguided love letter from two of Evie's many, creepy, admirers." Mal says, and Evie picks up instantly on the way Mal's shoulders are tensing up. "You have a place, obviously. With us. And you're happy. With us."

Evie's eyebrows draw together and she tilts her head at the girl avoiding her gaze in front of her.

"Mal..." Evie begins.

"P and D aren't students..." Ben cuts in suddenly. "This has happened before...Not in a long, long time...I'm glad Hercules is here..." Ben mumbles to himself, fishing his phone out of his pocket.

"Who are they then?" Mal snaps and Evie notices the way her pale fingers are clenching and stretching at the comforter in her lap.

"Well..." Ben rubs the back of his neck. "They're gods."

A hush falls over the room as Mal and Evie's eyes widen and they look at each other.

"Cool." Carlos chimes in, looking up from Evie's sketchbook for the first time all night.


	4. Chasing after you is like a fairytale.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I had to split this chapter in half because I came up with a million ideas when my brain was finally allowed to think about something other than school.
> 
> This chapter was a real ride to write and it should be a real ride to read. I hope ya'll like it. It might be paced a bit weirdly just because I did chop it in half and tweaked a few details a week and a half after I wrote it all in one go, so. 
> 
> Sorry it took so long to get out, but the next 3 or so will be much faster! 
> 
> Love you guys, hope you've had an enjoyable year so far!

_"They're gods."_

The words echo in Evie's head for a long time. Carlos is talking, and so is Ben and then Mal's saying something, but it all sounds muted and far away. Evie's completely zoned out when Mal's hands wave in front of her face.

"Hey. Evie!" She presses her warm hands against Evie's cheeks, tapping lightly against them. "Great, Ben! You broke her!" She exclaims, tossing her hands into the air.

"I---I'm sorry?" Ben's eyebrows furrow together as Mal shoots him a look over her shoulder. Ben's face warps with concern as he stares back at Mal.

"I...I'm fine." Evie says as reality comes back to her slowly. Mal's head whips around and she's got this strange expression on her face. Her features are all painted with clashing emotions, from the concern creasing her brow to the small, forced smile tugging at the corners of her lips to the  _something_ swirling around in her emerald eyes. 

"Hey, where'd you go?" Mal asks, her fingers sliding over the curve of Evie's cheeks to her collarbone. Evie's doesn't meet her eyes and that makes the worry churning deep inside of Mal that much worse.

"I'm fine." Evie repeats, and that convince Mal even less. "Gods?" Evie's fluttering attention zeroes in on Ben, still standing just inside of the threshold of their room, shifting nervously from foot to foot.

"Yes..." He says, and Evie recognizes that tone in his voice immediately. He's holding something back. He using his Mr. Political voice on her. "Greek gods. They've been known to get bored from time to time and play games with mortal lives for fun..." He adjusts his tourney jersey a little. "I'm sure you've heard the stories."

Mal's eyes are still glued onto Evie's face, and Evie knows it, she can feel it, but she doesn't look at her. She can't right now. If she does, Mal will see the excitement burning in her eyes. She'll take one look at her and know every single thought swirling through her brain, just like she always did. She'd know that the thought of Gods being interested in her enough to send her on some kind of quest just like all the heroes in all of the myths Evie used to read like bedtime stories as a kid was the most exciting thing Evie could ever think of.

"Which gods?" Evie asks. She's got a loose idea of who it might be, sure, but this seemed like something she should ask about.

"Why do you care, Evie?" Mal pipes up. "Nothing good ever happens when creepy gods send people on quests! Right, Ben?" Mal's gaze finally drops from Evie in favor of glancing at Ben from over her shoulder.

"Yes. These particular two gods have been known specifically to pick on Auradon kids ever couple of years." Ben says, picking his words carefully. "Sometimes things go alright---" Mal gives him a look that clearly reads: _"Get your overly hopeful Auradonian bullshit out of here before I hurt you"_ "But it's gone pretty horribly a few times. Audrey's older brother was briefly turned into a satyr..." 

"Which gods?" Evie repeats, and she meets Mal's gaze when she says it this time. Mal is looking at her with far more desperation and--- _That looks kind of like worry...but it's not...it's something else..._ \---than she expected.

"Persephone and Dionysus." Carlos says. Everyone turns in unison to look at him. "What? I read some of _Auradon Prep: A enchanted history._ before." He says, gesturing to the book in between the girls. "They turned Felix Stefanson into a satyr, Mila Thatch almost had her arm chewed off by Cerberus, Kendra Bear got into a fist fight with Apollo---" Carlos trails off when Ben gives him a look. "Ect." Carlos ducks his head.

"But what about all the people who didn't have anything mildly horrible happen to them?" Evie asked, suddenly the most present she'd been in the past couple of minutes. "Didn't they get to go on an amazing adventure and experience something new and incredible?" She asks, and Mal wants to throw up when she see how starry eyed and excited Evie's getting. Ben looks a little uneasy and Carlos stares at the back of Evie's head with a worried expression on his freckled face.

"Why would you want to risk it?" Mal asks. Her fingers leaving Evie's collarbones to graze over her hands. Mal's eyebrows raised when Evie didn't instantly take Mal's hands. She always took her hands. _Always_.

"Why wouldn't I?" Evie asks and she regrets it immediately when she watches Mal's expression change. "I-I mean. I love it here and I love being here with you guys...but.." She trails off briefly and glances at Ben, who was starting to edge toward the door.

"If you love it, why risk losing it?" The pitch of Mal's voice is rising with her frustration, and Evie's eyebrows press together when she sees hurt and sadness flash across her pretty features. Mal presses her pouty pink lips together before anymore words can slip out of her mouth, her eyebrows scrunching together above her emerald eyes.

"Because...I want to see more than just the pretty, sparkly streets of Auradon and the crowded alleyways of the Isle." Evie says, watching Mal carefully. "This could be the adventure of a lifetime!"

"But why does it have to happen now...just when everything feels settled?" Mal asks, more notes of desperation slipping into her voices as she shoves it back down to a lower, calmer timber. More confusion creases Evie's expression as she stares at Mal, her eyes scanning over her pale face. Her mind races for the words to respond to her with.

"Carlos!" Ben whispers, catching the boys attention. He jerks his head toward the door, trying to mouth out the words " _We should leave! Give them privacy!"_ while gesturing out the words too. Carlos reminds himself to never play charades with him as he slips out of Evie's bed and tiptoes across the room. The boys are out of the door and closing it quietly before Evie speaks again.

"Mal..." She takes Mal's hands as Mal turns her head away, her purple hair tucked behind her ear, leaving her profile open for Evie's eyes to examine. "What's wrong? You're always talking about how boring Auradon can be. I thought you'd be excited about a new adventure!"

"Not one given to us by crazy Gods who think you're out of place or that you're longing for something else or what the fuck ever." Mal grumbles, glaring at the wall across the room, her hand clenching into a fist underneath Evie's.

"Mal..." Evie starts again, but Mal shakes her head, her nose crinkling angrily.

"You haven't denied it....so it's true?" Mal turns her head back toward Evie, but her eyes stay low and avoidant, hidden beneath her dark eyelashes.

"Destiny is calling!" Evie exclaims, tightening grip on Mal's hands. She avoids answering Mal's question and they're both aware of it, it hangs in the air around them and it feels suffocating to Mal.

"I wish destiny would lose our numbers." Mal grumbled. "Why can't you find what it is you need here?" Mal asks and there's so much desperation in her voice. It shatters something inside of Evie. For the first time, Evie recognizes that emotion on her face. 

 _It's insecurity. It's hurt and insecurity._ Evie thinks.  _  
_

"...Mal, I--"

"Save it." Mal growls, yanking her hands out of Evie's. She's up and off the bed so quickly, Evie doesn't even have time to try and reach out to her. "If you don't think we're enough...if we can't give you whatever the fuck it is you need, fine!" She snarls. Mal regrets each word as they escape her lips, but she can't stop. She can't snap her jaw down around them.

Mal uses "we" but Evie knows she means "I".  _Shit. I've really hurt her feelings..._

"Wait! Mal!" Evie calls, trying to untangle herself from her blankets. "Wa--"  _SLAM!_ "-it." The heavy oak door of their dorm slams in her face just as she reaches it, and just like that, Mal is gone and Evie is all alone.

-*-

Genevieve Annabelle LaReine had the _perfect life_.

"I have the perfect life." She murmurs to herself, watching Mal twirl around their bedroom to some catchy song playing through the scratchy speakers Jay had stolen from Chad for them (Less for them, more just to piss Chad off).

"What did you say?" Mal shouts over the music, tossing her just-blow-dried-fluffy hair out of her smiling face.

"Nothing." Evie says through the soft smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Keep dancing." Evie insists, waving off Mal's raised eyebrows.

Mal grins and does so, concerning herself with half dancing, half musically folding her freshly washed clothes.

" _Who run the world? Girls!_ " Mal sings along as she hangs up one of Evie's skirts in her wooden wardrobe, stomping her feet and body rolling to the beat. Evie smiles as she watches her from over the edge of her textbook.

-*-

She loved her friends.

"I love you guys." Evie mumbles out loud as she passes a bowl of popcorn to Jay. His eyes had hardly left the TV screen since Mal and Evie had arrived in his room for their weekly movie night, joy and the light being thrown from the TV dancing across his features. Mal had fallen asleep half way through _Sharknado 1_  and now, during the opening credits of _Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!_ both she and Carlos were snoring softly with their heads rested against her shoulders. 

"Did you say somethin', fam?" Jay asked through a mouthful of popcorn.

"Nope." Evie murmured, reaching forward to run her fingers through Jay's glossy hair. "Just thinking out loud."

"Okay." Jay says, leaning back against her knees as she played with the silky strands of his hair. "Ooo! Ooo! Watch this!" He points at the screen excitably, spilling popcorn onto the carpet.

-*-

She loved living in Auradon.

"I love Auradon." Evie smiles brightly, twirling around to take in the city that bustled around her.

"Auradon City is really something, isn't it?" Ben laughs, watching her with fondness as she bumps into someone and apologizes profusely. She and the stranger exchange a few more apologies and smiles before separating.

"It's so clean and...and beautiful!" Evie nods, taking his arm as they all but skipped down the smooth sidewalk. "And the people here are so nice! If this were the Isle, that guy would have probably stabbed me."

-*-

But, Evie--that's what everyone called her except for Carlos, who had taken up calling her _E_ or  _Eves_ , and Jay who often called her _LaReine_ (Tourney was getting to him), and Mal who called her a lot of things, but _Princess_ and _honey_ had to be Evie's favorites.--had found herself at a crossroads. The same crossroads that all of the brave heroes (and some select Villains) in her dusty beloved story books hidden beneath her bed back home had come to.

"A. Follow my heart and the mysterious adventure an outside force is leading me on..." Evie mused to herself. "Or B. Stay right here, in Auradon, with Mal, Carlos, Jay and Ben...Where we're safe...finally. And happy..." Evie ran her fingers through her hair. 

Evie always thought she'd pick adventure. _No questions, no matter what. A sure thing._

But, her story books had left out one important detail: with the crossroads, her heart would be split too. Evie had things to lose now. People she loved, people she couldn't stand to be without. People like Jay and Carlos and Ben and _Mal_. 

Mal was already mad--furious, in that calm Mal sort of way--at Evie for even considering the other road-- _the adventure_. Mal was angry and Evie was miserable and that just wasn't good for either of them.

-*-

"Mal, come on. Let's talk about it."

"I don't want to talk to anyone about anything." Mal grumbled as she stuffed a black lace shirt into the over sized yellow backpack Ben had given her when they all went camping last fall. "Where're my shoes?"

"Here." Evie said with a frown, holding up a pair of leather sneakers. Mal snatched them out of her grip without even looking at her. "Mal, please. Just talk to me." Evie pleaded, sitting up on her springy mattress with her legs folded beneath her, posed picturesquely even with the sad look on weighing on her features.

"Nope. Don't want to, not going to." Mal pulled her spell book out of the bedside table and shoved it into her already overflowing bag without a single shred of gentleness to her movements. She didn't even spare Evie a glance as she reached passed her to grab her lilac sweater that was draped over Evie's headboard. 

"Where are you going? Curfew is in a few hours. Mal, slow down, please." Evie got up off of her bed, picking up a pair of black skinny jeans Mal had dropped. Evie held it out to her with a well practiced puppy dog eyes and a trembling bottom lip.

"No." Mal said, taking the pants without looking any higher than Evie's collarbones. "I'm going to camp out in the boy's room tonight." She shoves the pants into her bag and turns away from Evie.

"Really? You'd rather sleep next to Jay's unwashed socks with Dude than talk to me about this?" Evie asked miserably, stepping around the corner of her bed as Mal moved across the room. She leaned against the bed post, wrapping one of her arms around it as she watched Mal stuff the last of her things into her bulging bag.

"Hm." Mal paused to stare at the space next to Evie's head thoughtfully for a few moments. "Yep." She zipped up her bag hastily and slung it over her shoulder. 

"Mal, come on." Evie whimpered softly. She let go of the bed post and stepped in front of Mal, hands outstretched. " _Please._ " And Evie sounded _so sad_ that Mal couldn't help but look up at her face. _Mistake_ Mal thinks because Evie's eyes are even sparklier when she's fighting back tears and her cheeks are even rosier when she's upset and she looks even more like she needs a hug  when her lower lip trembles like that and---

" _From outside the threshold of this room,_

 _Glamour a body double in my costume._ " Mal's eyes snapped away from Evie's as the words came out of her mouth almost all on their own, green fog spilling from her palms and spreading across the floor as she recited.

"I'll be back for some more of my clothes tomorrow after class." Mal says as she snatches her jacket off of the corner of her dresser. "Don't be here." She casts a quick glance over her shoulder at Evie's tearful expression. Then she was gone.

-*-

Mal had easily tricked Fairy Godmother's  _hall monitors_ and _curfew checkers_ with her spell. From outside of the threshold of their dorm room, it looked like Mal was sitting in her bed, scribbling in her notebook studiously, all night. It almost seemed cruel that all Evie saw was an empty bed with a few shirts strewn across it.

 _Don't be here._ The words echoed in Evie's restless mind all night. It was the coldest, most sleepless night Evie had faced since leaving the grey, dreary streets of the Isle. Evie didn't know if she'd actually gone to sleep that night or just gotten lost in her mind, wishing Mal was there, imagining Mal sneaking back into their room at some late hour of the night, imagining what she'd do--- _Don't be here._ Mal's unforgiving gaze burned bright emerald in Evie's mind.

And Evie's eyelashes fluttered open.

The first beams of blue-grey morning light were spilling over the windowsills across the room from Evie's bed, washing over every inch of the room, from the chair with one of Mal's leather jackets draped over the back of it to the painting hanging on the wall near the door. Spray painted blues, creams, blacks and browns looked dull and washed out in the early morning light. Evie's eyes met her own and she felt like for the first time, that beautiful painting actually reflected who she was.

 _You're being dramatic, Evie. Mal is, too. You guys are gonna make up in no time._ Carlos had insisted when Evie had called him last night.  _Just give it time._

Evie shivered violently. She hadn't felt the vicious bite of Winter yet, having had her own personal 5'2" space heater tucked away with her underneath thick downy comforters for the past 2 and a half weeks, but now, without Mal keeping her warm, the cold seemed unbearable. The loss of sensation in her toes only made the horrible churning feeling in her chest that much worse.  Evie pulled one of the comforters up over her shoulders and wrapped it tightly underneath her chin. The familiar scent of strawberries, paint and strong brewed coffee hit Evie in waves, bringing a vivid image of an intense girl with pale skin and bright green eyes and soft pink lips and dimples and beautiful purple hair to mind. Evie flung the comforter away from herself---always one for dramatics---and sat up in her big--too big bed. She watched her breath crystallizing in midair in front of her face for a long time, still groggy and sleepy without the benefit of actually having slept.

"...Mal." She whined into the emptiness of her dorm room. She fell back against her mattress and threw a hand over her eyes in another dramatic display of emotions she couldn't quite contain in that shaking frame of hers. Evie has never been very good at dealing with her friends being upset with her. In fact, she'd been historically pretty bad at it.

The door opened and Evie didn't even bother sitting up. She was so tired and so cold and so _upset_. She only took her hand away from her eyes when she felt the mattress beneath her dip.

-*-

"Hey, princess." 

Evie didn't turn around. She didn't even slow her pace as she walked down the uneven, overgrown pavement of the alleyway just behind the familiar graffiti covered wooden paneling of the Isle's town market. She knew he'd been following her since she left the foggy graveyard of Dragon Hall. She'd felt his eyes on her, noticed the way anyone who even so much as leered at her, the typical Isle 'Hello!', had disappeared or looked terrified when she glanced back at them over her shoulder. 

"You shouldn't be seen with me." Evie says as she sidesteps a puddle of mud and street sludge. It was still ' _Summer'_  on the Isle, but even during warmer weather, it was always overcast and dreary and there always seemed to be puddles around. Evie had lost many cute shoes to those wretched puddles when she went out late at night, dressed in a cloak and mask to hide her identity. She'd never been quite brave enough to wander all the way into town, but she'd gotten a taste of it from afar.

"Probably not." Jay says as he all but materializes by her side, his pockets overflowing with stolen loot. "But that's the fun part." and he flashes her that glinting smile with those sparkling chocolate brown eyes and Evie forces herself not to smile back.  _Don't encourage him._ She thinks as she scowls at the alleyway ahead of her.

"Mal won't be happy." Evie says, and something inside of her aches just saying her name. She sidesteps an enormous piece of white stone that had crumbled off of the 'city hall', apply renamed 'shitty hall' by the Isle's population. It was a dirty, mold covered building with windowpanes that had had the glass broken out of a long time ago and graffiti covering almost every inch of it that was low enough for someone to reach.

"She's never happy." Jay replies as he throws an arm around Evie's shoulder. He's all hard muscle packed into a that lean frame and the weight of his arm almost surprises Evie. She doesn't let her discomfort show, just keeps a neutral expression on her pretty face and her eyes on the gravel peppered street in front of her. "It's kind of her thing." Evie can feel Jay's grin like sunlight on the side of her face. "Don't worry about today, Princess. Mal get's all worked up about things for a day or two, and then she'll forget about it. Just ride out the storm."

Evie just hums in response, her fingers fidgeting with the thin strap of her bag. She didn't know if the aviator cap wearing goons who roamed the Isle reported back to Mal just as faithfully as they did to Maleficent, but she didn't want to risk it. She'd defied a Faery today, which just wasn't something you did on this Isle. 

_I can't let Jay get marked for social death too just because he likes pissing Mal off._

"You standin' up to Mal like that back there was pretty damn BA though, princess." Jay says. Evie shakes her head and tucks a loose piece of wavy blue hair behind her ear.

"If by 'BA' you mean badly advised. Or brain absent. Or...." Evie trails off and glances at him. "Or something." She laughs a little at herself. It humorless for the most part, but Jay still laughs a little too.

"Nah." He grins. "Bad ass for sure." He pulls her closer with his arm, practically headlocking her against the firm muscles of his chest. He was taller than her, sure, but just barely when she was wearing heels. He still used the measly inches he had to his advantage.

"Hey, I have to go home!" She protests as he starts turns down another alleyway, toward the center of town.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. But you can spare a minute for me, right?" He grins as he finally relinquishes her head. She straightens up, smoothing down her hair and adjusting her jacket in a huff.

"Why? Are you going to lead me into some kind of trap?" She asks, suspicions flaring as her eyes scan the alleyway around them. "Embarrass me and video tape it for Mal?" she asks.

"What? No!" He says, matching her cross armed pose. "I don't have a camera!" He laughs as she lets out another irritable huff, tapping her foot against the cracked pavement.

"Jay, it's been a long day." She says as she glances around subtly for escape routes. "I really have to go home."

"Oh come on, _amira_!" He exclaims. "Just a minute of your precious and royal time." He bows, bending low at his waist and sweeping one arm out in a grand gesture. Evie stares at the hand he offers her for a few long seconds before taking it. It was rough and calloused and in need of at least one of her many moisturizers, but nice all the same. 

"Amira?" Evie asks, trying the foreign word out in her mouth like a child trying a new food.

"Princess. Did I say amira? I meant princess." He says as he straightens up.

"I like it." She smiles softly. 

"Yeah?" He asks, and there's a brief glint of genuineness to the question for a moment. And then a smirk spreads across his lips and she was already rolling her eyes by the time he says: "What else do you like, Evie?" he asks suggestively. 

"A lot of things." She answers. After flirting (and then fighting) with Mal for most of the day, she had very little humility left. "Cake, princes, money, makeup...apples." She produces an apple from her bag. Sinfully ruby red and glinting in the diffused sunlight coming through the clouds above, it catches Jay's focus instantly. Evie's mother had worked out some kind of _deal_ with the Captain of the Importers who directed the program that brought the Isle Auradon's _leftovers_. Evie hadn't thought about it when she was a child, but now that she was older, the Captain's _comings_ and goings at the Castle and their ever abundant supply of mostly wormless apples made a lot of sense. She always kept one or two with her at all times, for intimidation purposes. _Poison_ didn't need to be made magically and everyone on the Isle knew it.

"Mal?" He asks, and for a moment she doesn't understand what he's suggesting. She glances around, ready to see Mal there, with her arms crossed and a scowl on her pretty face. Evie's eyes are met with an empty, dusty alleyway, colorful scarves hanging from a vender's hut to the left, a flimsy fence made of plywood to the right, several slats missing or broken. When she turns back to Jay, his cheeks are fulls and his hands are behind his back. She hadn't even noticed that his hand had left hers or that the apple had disappeared from her fingers either. She didn't even feel their absence until she looked at her empty hands.  _He's good._

"W-what is that suppose to mean?" she asks defensively when realization hits her.

"You were flirting with each other from the moment you set eyes on each other." He says through the chewed up apple in his mouth. Evie's lips curl a little at him and he swallows it down quickly, relishing in the feeling of food filling his grumbling stomach. "Sorry, didn't mean to upset your _royal sensibilities_." He says, feigning a ridiculous proper accent.  Evie's face relaxes, but her eyes still look hungry and dangerous as always as she watched him carefully.

"We weren't..." Evie says. But apparently gives up on that train of argument, because the next words out of her mouth are: "I flirt with everyone. It's the best way to get what you want from them." She's glancing around again, looking for escape routes just like Jay always did, just like everyone on the Isle did.

"Sure, amira." He says, and she likes the way his accent comes out when he uses that word. 

"You know, it's awfully foolish of you to eat an apple taken from the Evil Queen's daughter, Jay." She says, changing the subject quickly and with little subtlety.

"Too late now, I guess." He says, brushing passed her. His foot steps are hardly two steps behind her before she hears him break off into a sprint, kicking up dust and gravel. She spins around on her heels and stares as he makes an almost impossible jump on top of a crate, up to a rusted tin rooftop and then onto another. "C'mon!" He calls, holding onto an already bent flagpole, precariously hanging off the side of a building a few feet in front of Evie and several feet above. 

"There is absolutely no way I can make it up there!" She exclaims, pointing at her shoes. They were leather boots, sure, but they weren't combat boots like Jay's. They hardly had any traction to them and the 3 1/2 inch heel wouldn't help much either.

"You better try." He says, holding out his arm. She squints incredulously at what dangles from his fingers. 

 _Hey...that looks like my..._ "My necklace!" Evie wails, her hand snapping up to her chest, feeling around for the ruby pendant that should be dangling from her neck.  _  
_

"Oh, is it?" Jay mocks, looking at the necklace with poorly faked innocence. "Hmm...well you better get up here and get it from me, shouldn't ya?" He grins devilishly.

-*-

"Hate. You." Evie pants. Her head falls between her knees as she desperately tries to appease her burning lungs. Soot was probably getting all over the back of her leather skirt from the crumbling chimney top she was sitting on, but she didn't--couldn't care right now. 

"Aw." He's still mocking her and that makes her want to punch him, but she thinks she'd die if she moved at all. "C'mon, Evie. I just wanted to show ya the town." He grins as he gets down on his back and stares up at her from between her boots. "Since you've been locked away for so long and all."

"Let's take a bike ride next time, okay?" She knows she probably a sweaty, flushed, panting mess right now, but the way Jay is looking at her tells her he doesn't mind much.

"Next time?" He grins, parroting her words. "Deal." He says before she can correct herself. She shakes her head as she gazes down at him, and she can't help but smile.

"Is this what you wanted to show me then?" She asks, swiping the red beanie off of his head. She's surprised by how soft and clean it felt. She pulled it onto her head, ignoring the voice in her head that said:  _Genevieve! You're hair is too frizzy for hats._

"Nah." Jay says, and he's still staring up at her. "It's at the shop." He says.

-*-

Evie hadn't really known what she expected, but Jay's dad greeting her with a huge smile and open arms wasn't one of them.

"Jay, my son! You brought me a princess!" Jafar beams at Evie, holding her at arms length, but still _definitely_ holding her. "I wonder what price she might fetch in our humble little shop." Jafar says, wiggling his eyebrows at Jay. It takes Evie a few moments and Jay's chuckling behind her for Evie to realize Jafar was joking. _Probably._  She cracked a smile back and Jafar swept her up in another bear hug. The squeezing, popping of the bones in her spine and the  _"Oh! What a skinny little girl! You must give her one of your protein shakes, son. Put some meat on those royal bones."_ brought back vivid memories of Jafar. A younger, leaner version of Jafar, but Jafar all the same. She smiled a little wider and held onto the (dirty) silk pajamas that hung from his broad shoulders as Jafar spun around with her, her feet inches off the ground. 

"Alright, pops." Jay says, a laugh in his voice. "Give the princess her stuff back and let 'er go." He says from where he's standing, arms crossed, leaning against a door frame with a fond smile on his face.

"Of course. Of course." Jafar steadies her, lets her feet touch the groaning floorboards again and then lets her out of his warm embrace. "Here are your things, your majesty." He presents the glinting gold and winking rubies of her rings and--- _My necklace! Again!_ \---in his outstretched hands to her. Evie plucks her necklace out of his large, dirt smudged hands and slips it over her head. The heart shaped ruby settled against her chest, where it belonged, where it felt right.

"Keep the rest." Evie says as she brings her hands up and folds Jafar's thick fingers over the treasures in his palms. He lets his head snap up from it's bowed position and stares at her with wide eyes, bewildered. Kindnesses like this were not common---rare and dangerous---on the Isle, but Evie didn't mind. She had a soft spot for the grinning man, she'd admit that.

"Jay, my boy! She is as much of a joy bringer as I remembered!" Jafar grins as he tucks the rings away in the pocket of his moth eaten robe. "I thank you, my princess." Jafar bows even more dramatically this time, bending so low that the snake pendant that hung from a long, tarnished silver chain around his neck brushed against the ground. One of his hands was outstretched toward Evie, presented with such flair, Evie couldn't help but take it. There weren't any rings left on her perfectly manicured fingers to be stolen. 

Jafar pulled Evie's hand forward and kissed it repeatedly, making dramatic  _MWAH!_ noises as he did so. Evie's laughter bounced through the crowded shop, curling around every bobble and trinket and useless memento of many Villains' foiled schemes. Both Jafar and Jay stared at her intently as she giggled, enraptured with the sound and the happy memories it dusted off and framed on the walls of their consciousnesses. 

"Princess." Jafar says again and he bows even more dramatically. 

"Princess." Jay says with less seriousness. He mimics his dad and bows low, holding out his hand to Evie. She smiles and takes it, too. When Jay stands and starts nudging Evie toward the door out of the main shop floor, he doesn't let go of her hand and warmness spreads through Evie's chest again.

"We'll catch you later, dad." Jay says as they start inching away. 

"Bring this one around more often, won't you, boy?" Jafar says as he gives them a wave. "You keep in mind that Jay would have been a prince if it weren't for that Aladdin, Evie!" Jafar calls after them.

-*-

 

"Hey, Princess."

"You shouldn't be seen with me." Evie sighs, her tired eyes meeting Jay's in the half darkness of her room. If deja vu hit her, it was too subtle for her groggy mind to process. The only things she could think about was how nice Jay's hair looked like pulled into a bun and how sparkly his eyes were.

"Probably not." Jay says as he slides himself underneath Evie's comforter and makes himself at home next to her, stretching out to take up whatever space Evie wasn't already huddled in on her queen sized. "But that's the fun part."

"If the curfew officers find you, we'll both get in trouble." Evie says as she lifts her head up off of her pillow and let's Jay slides his arm underneath her head. He pulls her closer to him as he settles himself down into the soft pillows behind his back. 

"You look a little cold there, Evie." He changes the subject, and she lets him. Because he's warm and she so cold and he's giving her that soft, smugness free smile and she can't help but lay her head on his chest.

"Frozen solid." Evie mumbles, thick lashes fluttering as she settled against him.

"Mal kept me up all night pacin' and mutterin'." Jay comments as he swipes his thumb across the hard bone of Evie's shoulder. It wasn't a subtle way of bringing up Mal or what happened last night, but Jay was never very good at subtleties. "You kind of look like you didn't get much sleep either." He presses his nose against the top of Evie's head. She could feel his breath, warm against her scalp.

"Are you saying I don't look pretty?" Evie halfheartedly jokes. Jay gives her a look. He'd stopped falling for her guilt trips pretty quickly into their friendship. When they first became friends, _really_ became friends, she'd have him declaring her beauty on top of rooftops just to get her to stop quivering her bottom lip at him. That was Evie's skill back on the Isle. Jay and Mal struck fear into hearts, Evie controlled them. Jay had yet to figure out which one was more powerful. More deadly. "I'm fine, Jay." Evie lies and Jay knows it.

"Ugh. I hate when you two fight." Jay groans, leaning his head back against her backboard with a soft thud. Evie glances up at him. She eyes the cut of his cheekbones for a few moments before nuzzling back into his warm chest, humming softly. 

"I don't think this is just a fight." Evie replies sadly, her voice shaking. "She was really upset with me...you should have seen her face..." Evie deflates in Jay's arm and it sparks something inside of his chest. Something burning and just a little bit painful, like something tapping on his heart. He wraps his around Evie's trembling shoulders in seconds and he murmurs all the things he hears other people say around Auradon when someone is crying: "There there. It's gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay." 

Evie feels so silly for crying. She almost feels guilty for doing it in front of Jay. He'd fight wars for her, for all of them, but he never quite knew what to do when she was hurt emotionally. He couldn't exactly fight the sadness and guilt away. But he always tried. He'd hug her like this, or punch (Chad) someone in the face for her or do silly things until she laughed. That was always his way.

Evie takes in a few, deep, stuttering breaths and calms herself down, relishing the feeling of oxygen filling her lungs. She laughs somberly when the tears finally stop streaming down her face. 

"I'm sorry." She murmurs softly, her fingers curling into the fabric of his mustard yellow sweater.

"Don't be." He says, and his voice rumbles in his chest and its so _so_ soothing. "You two are gonna kiss and make up in no time, I know it." He says, his big hands rubbing at her back soothingly. "Tell me when that kissing part happens though. I want pictures." He jokes. Evie slaps at his arm lightly, shaking her head.

"You're the worst." She says, but she says it with so much fondest, it's obvious she means the opposite.

"You love me and you know it." Jay grins brightly, his eyes sparkling in the blue morning light. Evie shakes her head again and buries her face in his chest.

"Can...can you take a nap with me?" She asks suddenly, and she's a little muffled by the loose knit yellow sweater he's wearing, but he hears her all the same.

"Sure." He says, resisting the urge to make any jokes. "Whatever you want, princess." 

-*-

 

The bathroom light comes on in a blinding flash of fluorescent white. Evie squints and blinks against the glaring light above her head. She groans quietly under her breath, rubbing at her sleep heavy eyes. 

_Note to self: Buy a slightly less painfully bright light for the bathroom._

Evie closes the door behind her slowly and quietly, pulling it carefully until she heard the dull click of the latch bolt sliding into place. Jay had hardly stirred when Evie had wriggled out of his embrace, she wasn't about to waste all that effort by waking him up with a too loudly closed door. Her groggy brown eyes find their reflection in the round mirror pressed into the wall above the porcelain sink. She looks better than she expected, but that's not saying much. 

The gash above her right eyebrow had healed a bit in the past 24 hours. The light bruising around it had turned green and yellow, contrasting with the bright red of the cut itself. Evie brushed her fingertip over it gently.

 _Wounds always look worse before they get better, my princess. Don't worry your pretty little head about it._ Jafar's voice rang in her head. She remembered when Jay first started teaching her how to get around town without being seen, without being on the street. Being on the streets of the Isle was dangerous, especially at night. Jay taught her how to blend into a crowd, how to disappear in plain sight, how to plot out escape routes when things got hairy without a problem--but teaching Evie how to jump from rooftop to rusted rooftop and stay out of sight of the crowded streets had proven to be... _a trial and error_ kind of experience. Even wearing stolen, thrown away tourney pads that had ended up on the Isle, Evie still went home everyday with busted knuckles, scraped knees, gashed open elbows, sore hands and many bruised tailbones for four months straight. It was the most exciting four months of her life. Until they came to Auradon that is.

Evie was tough. That's what she learned in those four months. She was tough. Maybe not as tough as Jay and Mal, but she was tough all the same. And she was proud of that.

The gash above her eyebrow, the little scrapes and cuts that peppered her elbows and her knees from Chad's party, even the enormous purple, blue and green bruise painted across her chest didn't bother her. No. What bothered her was her tear stained cheeks, the red tint underneath her eyes, the aching in her chest and the heavy, churning feeling that hadn't left her alone since the moment Mal stormed out of their room. It was all a reminder that no matter how tough she was physically, no matter how many scrapes and bruises she took, she'd always be weak emotionally. That was her problem on the Isle. Her heart was too big, too heavy with emotions too intense. Her eyes were too wide and she was just too open to the worlds barbs. Here in Auradon she still cut herself on the edges of social graces and self deprecating thoughts, but at least she had her friends.

Her makeup and her clothes were armour to her just as much as her friends were. The koal that lined her eyes gave her edges too, the lipstick painted across her lips like warpaint made her dangerous too, the perfectly fitted clothing that she wore like a suit of arms made her strong too. The ruby heart that hung from her neck protected her real heart. It was smaller, harder but just as beautiful. 

Evie is jolted out of her thoughts by a _K_ _nockKnock!Knock!_ on the door behind her and a tentative "Evie?".

-*-

"So, that's why she's mad at you?" Jay asks, lounging next to Evie, stretched out and taking up half of her bed.

"I guess." Evie sighs. "She seemed really upset that I would even consider it...She thinks I don't think you guys are enough or something..." Evie trails off. Jay can tell she's thought a lot about this. Worried a lot about it. He pats her shoulder.

Jay had known Mal all their lives. If she felt betrayed, hurt....well last time Evie had hurt her feelings, Mal had Evie banished to a castle far, far away and then held a grudge for 10 years. And then she locked Evie in a closet full of bear traps. So, _who knew_.

"Do you?" Jay asks, watching Evie as she mends a tear in the sleeve of one of Mal's jackets. She'd pricked herself at least three times in the past five minutes and Jay was starting to worry.

Evie's jaw clenches a little and she stops sewing. Jay watches her carefully, his chocolaty brown eyes scanning over her features. He was about to ask if she was okay when she dropped the purple jacket into her lap and turned her head to look at him.

"No. You guys are my best friends. You're the most important things to me." Evie says. Jay can tell that there's more she wants to say.

"But?" Jay asks.

"But..." Evie starts. "But, I've always wanted to go on some grand adventure...Ever since I was a kid. I've always wanted to be picked for some amazing destiny. I thought coming here to Auradon was it but..."

"But it doesn't feel like enough?" Jay finishes for her. Evie looks grateful as she nods and hums soflty. "I understand." Jay says, taking Evie's hand. She smiles for the first time all day.

-*-

"What's wrong?" Evie asks as they leisurely stroll through the halls of the Dorm building Delta. 

"What? Nothing." Mal says, her head snapping up to glance at Evie, her green eyes meeting Evie's eyes very briefly before they bounced away.

"You're rubbing at your dragon mark." Evie says. "You only do that when you're stressed out." 

 _Those big brown eyes of hers really do see everything._ Mal thinks as she dips her head and sighs, rubbing at the back of her neck.

"It's really nothing." Mal says, shoving her hands into the pockets of her lilac dress skirt.

"It's really not." Evie says and she stops in her tracks (or tries to. She's had quite a bit of spiked punch so she's a little shaky and the world is spinning just a little.) "Come on, Mal." She says as she pulls on Mal's wrist, tugging her closer to her. A little _too_ close by accident, and she ends up bumping right into Evie, sending them both stumbling. 

"Shit, sorry." Mal mumbles, her hand landing on Evie's hip as she tries to steady herself. "I'm fine." She says when she looks up at Evie and sees the concern on her face. Evie's pupils are blown so wide, hardly even a sliver of the warm brown is left lining it as Mal's peers into them.

"Maaaaaal." Evie whines as she throws her arms over Mal's shoulder. "Just tell meeeee." Mal glances away from Evie's intense gaze, glancing at her out of the corner of her eye when Evie leans a little closer to her, her expression imploring.

Mal's grip on Evie's hip becomes a little more purposeful and she starts chewing on her bottom lip.

"Mal---" 

"It's just Ben." Mal sighs.

Evie smiles sympathetically and pitches her voice down low and husky as she says: "Ah, boy blues." She giggles and Mal rolls her eyes, which she regrets because it makes her dizzy. She leans into Evie's embrace.

"I don't think we're going to be together much longer." Mal kind of mumbles into Evie's shoulder, her eyes downcast sadly as she looks at the pot of flowers behind Evie's back.

"Why do you say that?" Evie asks, leaning back to look at her. Mal keeps her head turned to the side as she fidgets with the ruffle sewn into the fabric covering Evie's hip. Evie grabs Mal's jaw and turns her head back toward herself. Mal is a little caught off guard by the intensity of Evie's gaze, her eyes making her even dizzier as she finds herself lost in them again.

"Because I'm going to break up with him." Mal says as she closes her eyes and rests her chin into Evie's grip. Evie's warm breath spreads across Mal's cheeks as she sighs and leans her forehead against Mal's. 

-*-

"Genevieve! You're horrible little friend is here, dear!" Her mothers voice calls, the shrill sound echoing off the stone walls of the castle.

"Mallory!" Evie grins, abandoning her broken crayons and half already used coloring book on the floor next to her bed. She dashed down the hall as quickly as her little legs could take her. Her feet were covered in white sock that went up to just above her knees and already used black Mary Janes that were one size too big and made her footsteps even louder as she raced down the grand hall, avoiding all the moth eaten tears in the carpet so she wouldn't trip. She comes to a sliding stop in front of the spiraling stone staircase, hopping on one leg to slow herself down. She only has to wait (impatiently) for a few moments before she sees a head of long blonde hair emerging from below. "Hi, Mal!" Evie grins, pushing some of the hair that had escaped her pretty V-braid out of her face.

The smile falters and then drops from her pretty, rounded face completely when she see the state of Mal's. Tears streak down her flushed face, her bright green eyes lined with red and she's sniffling as she slowly makes her way up the stairs. Evie meets her at the third step from the top, throwing her arms around the trembling girl.

"What's wrong?" Evie asks through the strands of wavy blonde hair she'd buried her face in. Mal just sobs and shakes in response. "Come on." Evie disentangles herself from Mal and holds out her hand. Mal takes it slowly. Evie holds it the entire time they walk down the huge hall in silence. Evie doesn't ask her again what's wrong. The book about _Human Emotions_ stashed away underneath Evie's bed told her that sometimes people needed to be pushed to tell someone something and other times it was better for them to do so on their own.

When Evie glances over at the blonde crying little girl, she notices for the first time how much darker the roots of her hair were...and how they looked kind of  _purple._ She stored that away to be a question for later.

Evie quelled her excitement about seeing Mal for the first time since Evie's 5th birthday party a week or two ago in favor of softly cooing at her, trying to calm her.

Evie had hosted the small birthday party in her castle, with cupcakes the goblins made especially for her from the least moldy and bug infested flour on the entire Isle. Mal came, of course. And so did Jay, that kind of shady kid who lived in the thrift shop downtown and hung around Mal most of the time. And Freddie Facilier came too, giving her a gift from her dad and his _friends from the other side_. Clay Clayton and Anthony Tremaine showed up, but they both left an hour in to go play _Horrible Huntsman and Prissy Prince_ in the forest next to Evie's house. Gaston Jr. and Gaston III both attended as well, the very hairy (for 7 year olds, that is.) sons of Gaston himself, bearing gifts of the least rotten pigs heads in the city and huge wheels of only _slightly_ moldy cheese. Mal's gift had been the best of all, though. A ruby necklace in the shape of a heart with a golden crown perched on top of the jewel. Evie had fallen in love with it instantly and hardly taken it off since. Mal played it off like it was no big deal, like she did with everything, but Evie could only imagine the length she had to go to to get Evie this. Most of the venders downtown didn't particularly expect a 5 almost 6 year old little girl to steal anything from them without being obvious about it, but anyone with anything this precious would be on high alert no matter what. 

Evie led Mal into her room, shutting the heavy mahogany door that creaked loudly on the rusty hinges behind them. Evie didn't want her mom eavesdropping, though she was probably far too concerned with plucking her eyebrows or scheduling passive aggressive tea parties with all of her  _'friends'_  to care.

"What happened?" Evie asks as Mal sits on her bed, legs hanging off the edge of the mattress. Mal's holding one of her hands over her forearm, her eyes never meeting Evie's as she whimpered out a pitiful: "Well..." Evie eyes Mal's arm suspiciously. "Mallory?" Evie sits next to her, kicking off her shoes as she folded her legs beneath her.

"My mom..." Mal starts and her voice sounds so weak and unsteady. Evie had never, ever, ever heard her sound like that before. They'd known each other since they were babies, but Evie could only recall seeing Mal cry 3 times in all that time. And once it was tears of anger. "She woke me up this morning...and s-she...she said that I--I..." Evie puts a hand on Mal's arm. Another thing she learned from her book:  _Physically comforting a person whom is emotionally distraught is one of the best methods to show support and affection. Physical contact between loved ones releases dopamine, oxytocin and serotonin in the brain, aka: happiness and love._ Evie didn't really know what half of those words meant, but she recognized the words happiness and love and she knew that that was what she wanted Mal to feel.

"She said that I was getting older and it was time for me to bear the s-symbol of my h-heri-heritage and power." Mal quotes, stumbling a bit through the bigger words. "So...she took me down to the fire place and sh-she did this..." Mal removes her trembling hand and Evie can't help but gasp at the sight. Marring the flow of Mal's pale skin was a deep almost black mark pressed into her skin. The area around the mark was red and raised, but the mark itself looked like it had healed instantly. Like it was already a scar. Like it had been burnt into Mal's skin. Evie shuddered, staring at the dragon branded into Mal's arm. _  
_

"Mom said that this was something every Faery had to do." Mal whimpered as she covered the mark with her hand again. "She kicked me out and told me to go do something evil...but I didn't want to...I just wanted to come here..." Tears stain Mal's cheeks and Evie's heart feels weird, like it's _hurting or something? For someone else?_

"Can I hug you again?" Evie asks. Mal nods emphatically, her eyes slowly flickering up to meet Evie's. Evie throws her arms around her small shoulders and pulls Mal into her chest. She peppers her forehead and cheeks with soft, dramatic kisses as soon as she's relaxed into Evie's grasp. She didn't stop until she heard Mal's sobs turn into laughter.

"Ew! Gross! Stop it." Mal protested through her laughter without any real force to her words. Evie planted a kiss on her nose and then ceased her barrage. "You're silly." Mal says, pushing lightly on Evie's silk covered shoulders.

"You stopped crying." Evie points out with a wide grin, a few of her teeth missing from her smile. It made her even cuter.

"...yeah, I did." Mal said, as if she'd just become aware of it herself. A slow dimpled grin takes over Mal's face and she beams back at Evie. "You have magical kisses." She says, even though they were both aware magic didn't exist on the Isle. Evie made Mal believe that maybe it did, just a little bit, just in her.

-*-

"Magic is dumb and I hate everything." Mal declares angrily as she all but stomps into Carlos and Jay's room.

Carlos almost chokes on the brownie he was eating. He throws his blanket over something next to his cross legged lap.

Jay hardly looks away from his video game as Mal storms in, tosses her bag across the room and all but throws herself onto his bed with a frustrated huff. Gunshots and prerecorded groans fill the air as Jay kicks and punches wildly.

"What's wrong?" Jay asks, a patronizing tone to his voice.

"Fucking Evie." Mal growls into Jay's pillow. The pillow case was gone and it wasn't as soft or nice smelling as Evie's pillows and that only fueled Mal's anger.

Carlos snorted from across the room, his crumb covered textbook settled in his lap but his eyes huge eyes trained on Mal. Sort of. He looked a little out of it, but now a days, he always looked a little out of it. 

"What?" Mal barked, sitting up in Jay's bed with her fists clenched into the fabric of his pillow. Jay was laughing too now and Mal felt out of the loop. She hated being out of the loop. "WHAT?" She snarled.

"Nothing. Nothing." Carlos chuckled, wiping the wetness away from underneath his eyes. "What did Evie say about all of the...god stuff or whatever?" 

"She's determined to run off on this stupid, dangerous quest!" Mal throws her hands into the air. "And I just don't get why she would want to! I mean, we're happy here, right? For the first time, we're away from our parents and the Isle!" Mal runs her hands through her hair aggressively, all but tearing the tangles out.

"I'm pretty happy." Jay nods, punching the air in front of the TV. A resounding digital groan and a whoop from Jay tells Mal that he won his game, again. 

"Me too." Carlos nods, stuffing another piece of brownie into his mouth. Dude barks softly in his sleep next to Carlos. "Dude is too." 

"You're high." Jay says, tugging off the sensors Velcroed to his arms and legs.

"And happy!" Carlos grins. Mal and Jay roll their eyes in unison as Carlos stuffs another piece of brownie into his mouth.

"Carlos kind of filled me in on everything, but then he got distracted by the brownies Freddie made." Jay explained as he sat down next to Mal carefully.

"Two crazy gods put a dumb note in Evie's stupid purse telling her that they understood her emptiness or what the fuck ever and now she wants to risk her life and go on some dangerous, idiotic quest." Mal grumbles, kicking Jay's bedside table with her studded boot. "That's pretty much it." Mal rubs her temples a little too hard to be soothing at all.

"Pretty much." Carlos nods in affirmation when Jay gives him a sideways questioning glance.

"Maybe...and this is just a maybe...Evie needs to go on this ' _dangerous, idiotic quest_ '." Jay says slowly, bracing himself to be punched in the arm by one of Mal's clenched fists. He's surprised when instead, Mal just kind of...deflates. She falls back onto his bed and turns her head away from him. He'd never seen her so openly upset, Jay didn't even know what to do.

"That's what I'm upset about..." Mal says slowly, her voice sounding strained. "If she needs this...then she doesn't need me..." Tears prick in the corners of her green eyes as her bottom lip quivers.

"Want a brownie?" Carlos offers from across the room.

-*-

Evie’s tired brown eyes read and re-read the texts glowing on her phone’s finger smudged screen. Reading them and then rereading them over and over, hoping that the words would change.

_Princess Jerkface (1:00am): I saw u and Mal._

Princess Jerkface (1:02am): I’m not the only one. Uh oh.  ;(

King Cutiepie (1:25am): We need to talk…about you and Mal…

King Cutiepie (1:27am): She’s still my girlfriend.

King Cutiepie (1:29am): I thought we were friends, Evie.

King Cutiepie (1:31am): Does that even mean anything to you? 

King Cutiepie (1:34am): I am VERY mad at you. 

King Cutiepie (1:37am): We aren’t friends anymore.

King Cutiepie (8:00am): I’m sorry about what I said last night. We are still friends if you want to be. Please call me as soon as possible, Evie.

Evie groaned lowly, letting her thin phone slip from her fingers and land in her lap. She covered her face with her hands, another low noise vibrating in her chest with all the panic and regret that had made a home there.

_This is bad. This is really bad. Audrey has probably told half the school by now…Ben…oh Ben. He’s probably so upset with me._

“What’s wrong?” Mal’s groggy voice cuts through the silence Evie’s been stewing in for the past 15 minutes.

“Nothing, sweetie.” Evie says, her voice sounding much cheerier than she feels, (which, given the circumstances wasn’t really an achievement). She drops her hands from her face, lets them join her phone in her lap as she gives Mal a hesitant glance.

“Don’t sweetie me.” Mal says, sitting up next to Evie with her disheveled purple hair and her worried emerald eyes. “What’s wrong?” Mal puts a hand on Evie’s shoulder and Evie feels herself unravel under Mal’s touch almost instantly. 

“What I’m about to tell you is going to make you want to kill me.” Evie says mournfully as she turns to look at Mal fully in the half light of their shared room. Mal feels panic rise inside of her chest, creeping out through the spaces between her ribs as Evie stares at her with that look…that look that was almost all eyebrows knitting together and lower lips shaking just a little. 

“I’m not gonna kill you, Evie.” Mal laughs, trying to lighten the seriousness Evie’s cast onto the conversation with her worried eyebrows and her sad looking brown eyes. “It takes too much time to break in a new best friend.” Mal grins, a bit forced, and slides her hand down Evie’s arm, trying to either calm Evie or calm herself, Mal didn’t really know. Evie looks away, a frown pulling down at the edges of her mouth. Mal stares at the sharp corner of her jaw, the curve of her cheekbone, all over her face for any hint at what was bothering Evie so much.

“Eves?” Mal’s warm fingertips press into Evie’s damp palm.

“Ben is going to break up with you and it’s my fault.” Evie blurts out before she can snap her jaw shut and throw her hands over her mouth.

_*_

"Why are you so happy?" Chad asks, combing his sun streaked hair up and off of his forehead into a perfectly  _charming_  quiff. He turned his head from one side and then the other, his honey hazel eyes searching for even so much as a hair out of place. When he was satisfied by what he saw in the hairspray coated mirror in front of him, he winked at his refection and turned around. 

"I have a study date with Evie today." Doug said through the certifiably dopey grin glued to his face. 

"Oooo. Exciting." Chad says sarcastically. Doug gives him a look. "Hey, hey. I'm just saying...she's hardly talked to you in the past few months. I wouldn't get your hopes up about this 'date'." Chad shrugs, shoving his hands into the pocket of his varsity jacket.

Doug's smile faded. He hadn't told Chad--hadn't been allowed to tell Chad about the _BenMalEvie_ fiasco a few months ago. Doug was pretty sure even if Chad knew, he wouldn't be anymore understanding. He'd probably be even less so. 

"My hopes are at a reasonable height, Chad." Doug says, tugging at his collar. 

"Yeah? Then why are you wearing your best bow tie?" Chad smirked.

_*_

"I brought all of your favourite snacks." Doug says when Evie is once again distracted by her phone. He slid a Tupperware of apple-cinnamon granola across the library table to Evie. She hardly looked at it.

"Thanks, Doug." She said, her eyes flickering up to Doug's. She looked tired. Very tired. It wasn't just the grogginess that pressed down on her movements like weights suspended from her joints by string. No, this tiredness was in her eyes, in the flicker of her expressions and the lock of her jaw.

"I made a playlist too." Doug says, trying to catch Evie's ever flickering attention. They'd been there an hour and Evie had gone through stages of either being overly absorbed in her homework, distracted by the messages flashing on her phone or just spacing off.

"Yeah?" Evie's eyes meet his for another few seconds. "Any Marin--" Doug watches Evie's eyes glance over his shoulder and then widen. Doug turned in his chair and follower her gaze.

Mal, her purple hair pulled back into a messy bun, a few loose strands hanging around her face, seeming to draw even sharper contrast to her pale skin and the dark red circles beneath her emerald eyes, had frozen midstride in the doorway of the library. Her eyes had locked on with Evie's and for a second she looked like she was considering turning around and leaving. Instead, she ducked her head, put a scowl on her face, clenched her fists and kept walking. Mal walked right past them without so much as a glance and then she disappeared into the libraries many shelves. Doug couldn't even begin to pretend he understood what had just happened.

"What's going on with you and Mal?" Doug asks, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"I don't want to talk about it. What did you get for #5?" Evie replied shortly, her hand scribbling more answers onto her paper as she tucked her lower lip between her teeth.

"Uranium." Doug replies. "You can talk to me about it." He says carefully, leaning forward.

"I don't want to talk about it with anyone, Doug." And Doug appreciates how Evie takes the sting out of her words and gives him a halfhearted smile. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Doug shrugs, patting her hand gently. "What did you get on #8?" He asks.

"Plutonium." Evie says, her shoulders drooping a little. "But, I'm not sure if that's right."

"That's what I got, so hopefully it is." Doug taps his pencil on his book. "It doesn't have anything to do with all that stuff that happened a few months ago, right?"

"No!" Evie's eyes snap up to meet his. "No." She says a little more calmly this time. "It's my fault this time. More my fault..." She says sorrowfully. A frown tugged at the corner of her mouth as her bottom lip slid out. "I'm sorry. This is silly." She says. She pulls her mirror out of her bag and checks that her carefully colored eyelashes aren't smudged or runny.

"It's okay." Doug says, and he puts his hand on her. "You don’t need a mirror to know you look nice, you know. You’re beautiful on the inside. Like… your brain and stuff!" He says, trying to lift her spirits. "Whatever is going on is gonna be okay, okay?"

Evie, for her part, manages to give him a real smile, though it's short and small. He appreciates it and pats her hand again. Doug was just like all of the other heroes and sidekicks that went to Auradon Prep. He just wanted to do good and make people happy. Evie really needed that sometimes.

"What do you want to be when you grow up, Evie?" Doug asks, not ready to let go of this moment of openness. Evie laughs a little and shrugs, tucking her mirror back into her purse.

"I want to be fashion designer and a scientist." Evie says, giving a tight lipped smile. "Maybe figure out some way to combine those two things, too."

Doug is about to say something else when a brassy sounding bugle plays, startling all of the libraries patrons.

"Presenting her majesty, Snow White!" A tiny little man wearing a huge hat announce. Evie's eyes went wide behind her eyelashes, staring at Doug as he stared at the women walking through the open double doors of the Library.

Terror. Pure terror. That's all Evie felt. The burning cold feeling leaked through her ribs and washed through her body, filling the spaces between her bones. Doug's eyes met hers and the smile on his face stuttered. Behind his glasses, his eyes lost their excited gleam and became worried in that puppy-Doug kind of way.

"Are you okay?" He whispers, pressing the back of his hand against her forehead. "Evie?"

"This is the worst possible thing that could happen to anyone ever." Evie murmured as she ducked underneath Doug's hand and onto the floor, out of sight of the library door.

"What?" Doug peered down at Evie from where she was hiding behind his backpack.

"Snow White. Evil Queen. Not good. My purse is literally modeled after the box my mother was going to put her heart in after she cut it out of her chest." Evie hissed.

Realization sweeps over Doug's face as a hand comes down on the crumpled tweed of his blazer shoulder.

"Doug! Hello, you handsome boy." A bright voice fills Doug's ears like music.

"Hi, Snow!" Doug grins up at the women smiling down at him. He stands, putting his body in front of Snow's line of sight to see Evie underneath the table. He steps into her outstretched arms, his face turning red when she peppers his cheek with kisses.

"Doug?" Snow, with her chin length glossy black hair and her bright blue eyes peers over Doug's shoulder and he knows she sees Evie. "Whose the girl hiding behind your backpack, dear?"

"Uh...well...uhm..." Doug stutters, trying to hide Evie behind his legs. Snow raises a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "That's...That's my friend Evie..." He says quietly.

"Evie?" Snow asks, both of her eyebrows rising up her forehead. For a 35 year old with such and expressive face, she still looked as youthful as ever. "As in Evie LaReine?" 

Panic is now washing through Evie in relentless waves and she's so close to throwing up into Doug's backpack-- _Well this couldn't get any worse so..._ _  
_

"Evie, sweetie, you aren't hiding from me, now are you?" Snow's sing song voice asks as she steps passed Doug.

"What? No? Of course not. What makes you say that?" Evie mumbles from beneath the table.

"She's kind of dramatic, don't be offended." Lonnie comments as she trots passed them, arms full of books.

_*_

Mal is fuming. She's absolutely fuming. There are practically visible steam lines coming off of her as Lonnie sits down next to her, setting her notebooks down on the table in front of them.

"What's up, buttercup?" Lonnie asks, opening up her notebook.

"I'm brooding, go away." Mal grumbles, her arms crossed tightly over her chest as she glares across the room. Lonnie follows her gaze through a mostly empty bookshelf to where Evie and Doug were sitting together, scribbling in their notebooks almost in sync.

"Oooh. Are you and Evie having another fight about which one of the seven dwarfs is cooler?" Lonnie clicks her pen a few times as she watches Doug pat Evie's hand with that sympathetic look he seems to constantly be wearing. 

Lonnie's eyes travel away from the pair across the crowded library and to Mal. Her hair is tied up messily into a bun, strands of purple hanging around her face. There are red tones underneath her green eyes, seeming to add to their intensity as she meets Lonnie's gaze.

"No." She replies shortly. Mal's face, pretty as always, is a mask of indifference, also, as always. But there are the hints of tiredness and emotion coming through in her expression as if they were slipping through unseen cracks. Her pale pink lip slides out a little bit as she turns her glare back to where Evie and Doug are talking, hardly even scribbling in there notebooks anymore. 

 _Losers._ Mal thinks bitterly as she watches Evie fish her mirror out of her purse, slung over the back of her chair.  _Gross, nerdy losers._

Lonnie sighs. These goddamn Isle kids were so bad at anything that had to do with emotions, it was ridiculous. Jay had told Lonnie and Audrey that Mal had once locked Evie in a closet full of BEAR TRAPS because she hadn't been invited to Evie's 6th birthday party 10 years prior. (Jay had some theories that there were some more feelings behind that fiasco than Mal would ever admit to, but he told them not to mention that to her.)

Doug touches Evie's hand and leans closer to her, murmuring something to her that makes her smile and Mal wants to throw her  _A study of Heroines_ textbook at his head. (But she wouldn't do that, because she was good now...and Doug wasn't all that bad most of the time.)

"If you're mad at her, talk to her about it." Lonnie suggests as she opens said textbook and starts taking notes. She's given advice to Mal and the Core Four a million times, and you know what, they sometimes listened to her, and it sometimes worked out okay. But Lonnie was guessing that this wasn't going to be the case.

A loud, brassy noise rattles through the air and breaks Lonnie's train of thought.

"Presenting her majesty, Snow White!" A tiny little man wearing a huge hat sagging over his eyes announces from the open double doors of the library. A women with a practically reflective smile and a red headband keeping her glossy black hair out of her face walks into the library with all the grace and dignity of a queen. Mal sneers on instinct before the color (whatever color was left) drained from her face.

_Shit. Evie is going to freak out._

Mal starts to stand, her wide green eyes focusing back onto Evie and--Doug's hand is pressed to Evie's forehead and her cheeks and those wide puppy-Doug eyes of his are staring at Evie intensely.

Mal sits back down with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest. Lonnie rolls her eyes.

"Mal. Don't you think Evie--" Mal puts her hand up and stops Lonnie mid-sentence. 

"I don't care." Mal growls. Lonnie starts to speak again and Mal shakes her finger. "Nope. I don't. Don't try to convince me that I do. I don't."

"Mal..."

"Nope."

"Mal, she's hiding under a table."

"She'll be fine." Mal crosses her legs.

"Mal.."

"Stop trying to make me a better person, Lonnie. I. Don't. Care." Mal insists. Her nose crinkles as she watches Snow White shower the side of Doug's face with kisses, leaving traces of red on his stubble peppered cheek.

Lonnie sighs and closes her notebook. 

"Alright, alright. But I'll get you next time, mark my words." Lonnie jokes as she stands and gathers her things. "Can I borrow your textbooks over break? Audrey keeps stealing mine."

"Yeah, whatever." Mal waves her off.

"Thanks, see ya."

Lonnie walks away from Mal, yellow and maroon peaking out of her royal blue skirt as she trotted past Snow, Doug and Evie, who was slowly crawling out from under the table, her face tinged bright red.

Mal shakes her head and scowls, watching Evie stare at her feet as she stands in front of Snow, lip worried between her teeth. Mal has to all but sit on her hands to stop herself from jogging over and saving Evie from whatever revenge Snow might want to exact. Her eyes go wide when she watches Snow wrap her arms around Evie's frozen frame. Mal can barely read the words off of Evie lips, but she does catch the word:

_*_

"Sisters?" Evie asks, confusion draped over the word. Her brain feels like its frozen in her head. All she can really focus on is the bright smile on Doug's face as he gives her two thumbs up from behind Snow's back. That and the fact the Snow smells like fresh baked pies. (And not the rat meat pies they used to serve at the Slop Shop on the Isle. Real, homemade pies.)

"Technically." Snow grins as she pulls back and  _god, she's even prettier than I thought she'd be._ "You're mother is my stepmother more or less. So, we're stepsisters. _Technically_." And she says it with so much peppy, sunny happiness that you wouldn't even think she was talking about the women who tried to poison, cut out her heart and kill her.

"I...okay..." Evie stutters, a slow smile taking over her shocked face. "Sisters." Evie repeats.

-*-

The auditorium in Auradon Prep was beautiful. It was beautiful and grandiose and exuded regalia just like most of the patrons who had sat in it's blue satin seats did. But it just wasn't the same for Evie, hiding away behind the shimmering golden curtains, lined with more blue satin. 

She loved being here in Auradon, it's what she always wanted, but there were times when she _missed the Isle_. They'd been in Auradon for nearly eight months, but she still felt like she was adjusting. Like things were always new and she was always finding new standards that she didn't quite meet. Now she was here, hiding from her classes, hiding from Doug's worried eyes, hiding from Ben's knowing, sympathetic smile, hiding from Jay's attempts to make her laugh, hiding from Carlos' understanding and most of all, hiding from Mal's quiet anger. 

In a funny sort of way, Evie felt like this was a little too much like things had been on the Isle. Evie almost wanted to laugh spitefully on how full circle this had become. She remembered vividly hiding away in the Auditorium on the Isle from Mal, and now she was doing it again, but this time her heart ached so much more. 

Evie was lost in thought, her books and notebooks spread out on the polished floor of the stage in front of her (she may be skipping class today, but she wasn't going to let her grades slip.) when she heard an odd, muffled new noise. It wasn't her phone buzzing in it's dark blue case like it had been most of the day. No. This new noise was a steady tapping, and it was getting louder. It was getting closer, too. Evie didn't even bother grabbing her things and trying to run off. If it was Fairy Godmother, she'd take whatever punishment was dulled out to her, she didn't care. (And if it was Mal looking for her, she'd take whatever was doled out to her, she didn't care.)

Evie was surprised by the face that peered down at her as the golden curtain was pushed away slightly.

"What are you doing here?" Evie asks. It comes out a little harsher than she meant, but that didn't matter. Audrey would probably be even more vicious.

"Running away from my problems." Audrey replies and Evie is almost shocked by how _not bitchy_ she sounds. It melts a bit of the ice she felt for the pink princess. Just a bit.

"Come on in." Evie says. Audrey's scowl softens and she almost looks like she might, just might, say thank you. But, of course, she doesn't, because she's Audrey. Instead, she just doesn't say anything mean in reply and that's all the thanks Evie needs.

"You're studying?" Audrey asks as she sits across the sea of papers and books and pens from Evie.

"Yeah. It calms me." Evie says as she returns to the history notes she was jotting down. 

_King Beast became king of Auradon after uniting all of the fairytale kingdoms under his crown. He ruled peacefully but firm. Benjamin Florian Evolent, the son of Beast and Queen Belle, succeeded him at 16 and is currently king._

_Claudine would have a lot of questions about how Beast became king, how he united the kingdoms without any wars and why his son had to become king at 16. _Evie thought as she scribbled a few more names and dates.

Evie was brought back out of her studying trance by Audrey's voice, echoing in the emptiness of the stage.

"Do you like Mal?" She asks and Evie feels her heart jump in her chest. She keep her eyes on her paper when she answers.

"Sure, who doesn't?" She says coolly, jotting down a few scribbles. She couldn't focus enough to write actual words, but she focused enough to keep up appearances.

"Half the people who meet her." Audrey replies bitterly.

"True." Evie says with a shrug. She loved Mal, she really did, but she had grown up with her (kind of). She had seen Mal at her absolute worst and best. She was closer to her than anyone else, even Jay. Unfortunately, Mal's soft gooey center wasn't exactly obvious to strangers. 

"But, I mean...like her." Audrey says as she leans forward on her knees, resting her hands in front of her. 

"Yep, that's what you said." Evie replies, her eyes still glued to her notebook.

"Ugh, god, you Isle kids are clueless!" Audrey groans. "Do you have feelings for Mal?" Evie opens her mouth to speak but Audrey put her finger up and says: "Romantic feelings."

"Why are you asking?" Evie finally meets Audrey's gaze. Audrey could never take the intensity of the Isle kids. Something about their eyes, the dangerous, wild glint in them. It threw her off. So she looked away a few seconds after and concerned herself with the state of her cuticles. 

"There's been a rumour going around that that's why Mal and Ben broke up." She says as she fishes out a bright pink nail file from her bag.

"You started that rumour." Evie says, staring at Audrey's perfectly shaped eyebrows and the soft curve of her cheek. Sometimes Evie didn't even notice that Audrey was actually pretty sweet looking, all pink lips and cheeks and perfect skin.

"And?" Audrey raises those perfect eyebrows. "Anyway, is it true?" She says as her eyes flicker back up to Evie's.

_*_

"Wow, you look great." Ben smiled kindly at her, offering her his hand. His bangs were hanging messily over his eyes from underneath his crown. 

"Yeah, well you know, Dress everyday like you're going to get murdered in those clothes." Evie smiles back as she slips one hand into his and brushes his hair out of his face with the other. The cold metal of his Beast head ring slides across her palm as he grins at her and guides her down the lavishly decorated staircase descending before them. Evie smiles at her feet, the heels of her pumps clacking against the sparkling surface of the steps as they glittered underneath their feet. Ben and Evie made quite the pair coming down the grand staircase in matching blue and yellow outfits. Evie's ballgown had hardly been finished two minutes before she had to put it on, but the effort showed in every beautiful detail. Golden flowers brushed Evie's ankles from where they'd been sewn into the mesh of her elegantly draped skirt. The design was mirrored in the embroidery of Ben's tie, tucked into his tailored dark blue blazer (which Evie had also made, of course). 

"First you make me your adviser and now you're taking me to your mother's birthday gala? Honestly, Ben." Evie whispers through a smile as they stepped in sync onto the glittering landing between flights of steps. The landing looked like Peter Pan had spilled fairy dust all over the floor (which wasn't unlikely) and the dust had set itself permanently into the polished marble. 

"Well, Carlos is stuck at Tourney camp all weekend and Mal hasn't answered my calls since the whole...you know, _gods thing_."

"Now presenting: His Majesty King Benjamin Florian Evolent and Royal Adviser Genevieve Annabelle LaReine of Auradon." A hefty man in a straining golden suit announced. Evie and Ben both flinched at the sound of their full names.

"What a mouthful." Evie mumbles, glad to change the subject as she smiles and waves to the ballroom of people. People with kingdoms and castles and real crowns and royal titles and---Anxiety started to creep into Evie's chest, lining her rib cage and surrounding her lungs. Maybe she gripped Ben's hand a little tighter. Maybe she really appreciated it when he squeezed hers back reassuringly.

"At least you have a decent middle name." Ben mutters through his _Kingly Business_ smile, plastered across his kind features as they descended the second flight of sparkling stairs to the ballroom floor. 

"Not really." Evie says as they melt into the crowd of waltzing nobles and debutantes. "Annabelle means grace and beauty. My mother used to get upset with me sometimes and tell me it was the only grace and beauty I'd ever have." Evie said and then smiled sweetly at a wildly dancing Duke from-- _Weasletown? Westlegun?_

"Really? Wow." Ben said. Evie rolled her eyes. Auradon kids were always so surprised by horrible things happening. Evie wondered what it was like in their worlds of sunshine and bubblegum. "Well, you've sure showed her, haven't you?" Ben flashes her that charming grin of his and Evie couldn't help but smile back. She wasn't so sure she'd ever live up to her mother's standards, but at least she could live up to Ben's most of the time.

"Charmer." Evie whispers as she smiles kindly at another passing king of some far away mountain country. "Florian isn't so bad." Evie glances up at him. He's so...golden. Everything about him. She didn't know he managed it. Even by Auradon standards, he was so golden, so clean. He was so quick to smile and laugh and forgive. Evie found herself staring at the side of his face, the cut of his jaw and the sparkle in his eyes until---

"It's pretty dumb." Ben says, nodding to a dark haired King with an oddly familiar  _smolder._ "It means flower. Who wants a King name Ben Flower?" 

Evie stifles a laugh into the back of her hand, as they finally come to a stop in the middle of the ballroom, right beneath the beautiful golden chandelier, crystals dripping off of it like petrified sunlight.

"That could be your stage name for your secret indie glam rock band." Evie jokes as they face each other. Ben puts a hand on her hip as she puts one of hers on his shoulder-- _This fabric is super soft and looks amazing under these lights. Note to self: Use again._ \--and their feet start moving in sync. Ben starts counting underneath his breath, staring at his feet as they waltz around the center of the ballroom. "Ben, pay attention to my hilarious jokes." Evie smiles as she slides her hand under his chin and lifts his face to look at her. "Just follow me, okay?"

"I'm sorry. I've always been really bad at waltzing." Ben says. He keeps his eyes on Evie's and hardly counts at all as they dance across the room. "Have you talked to Mal?"

"No." Evie replies quickly, her eyes flickering away from his, settling on the wide, glittering smiles of the happy party goers dancing around them.

"You should. She didn't look so great today in _Horseback Heroics_." Ben says, nodding to a bearded that claps him on the back and all but shouts something in Russian at him before waltzing in the opposite direction with his beautiful wife.

"Well, she doesn't really like that class, Ben, so that doesn't surprise me." Evie says once Ben's attention returns to her. She smiles at Audrey's parents as dance past them. Aurora was even prettier than Evie would have ever guessed and Philip, in his red suit and his graying hair slicked back, was even prettier too. 

"Worse than usual, Evie." Ben insists when Evie's eyes meet his again. "She may be upset with you, but not talking to each other isn't going to help."

"She's the one not talking to me, Ben." Evie says and the twitch at the corner of her mouth tells Ben that she's struggling to keep that surgary sweet smile on her face for anyone who might be looking at her.

"Now presenting: His Majesty King David August Ferdinand and Her Majesty Queen Snow White of East Riding." There's a brief pause and then the hesitant addition of "And their 7 royal councilmen." 

"You know she's too stubborn and proud to do that, Evie." Ben says. "Do you remember when Jay and Mal got into a fight over which one of them could jump from the roof of Dorm Alpha to Dorm Zetta?"

"Yes." Evie grumbled, her eyes sliding down to stare at the gold lining the collar of Ben's blazer. 

"Do you remember how that ended?"

"Two broken toes, scraped knees and an inflated ego? Yeah, I remember." Evie muttered. "But that was different. I hurt her feelings, not her pride."

"Yeah. And the last time you hurt her feelings she got you exiled and then held a grudge for ten years." Ben said. Sometimes Evie regretted telling him that story. "She's not going to talk to you first, Evie. She's going to suffer in silence until you talk to her." Ben insists, squeezing her hand.

"I used to have this parrot. On the Isle." Ben gives her an incredulous look. "His name was Othello. He was my only friend when I was locked away in that castle." Evie continues, ignoring it when Ben narrowly missed stepping on her toes. "He was really good at giving advice and keeping me company. He used to steal books for me when my mom caught me sneaking out of the castle and put bars on my window."

"He sounds nice." Ben smiles kindly at her.

"He was. My mom caught him bringing me a chemistry set once and she turned him into a headdress." Ben almost visibly flinches. "That's kind of what Mal and I grew up around, Ben. The things you love get taken away, so it was just better not to love. "

"You aren't on the Isle anymore." Ben says, his voice sounding softer than usual as he peers down at her. Evie almost wants to flinch away from his kindness, almost wants him to stop being so happy and forgiving and optimistic for once. Ben was like the sun. Ben and his happiness and his smile and his kindness were like the sun and Evie, Evie wished that he could see the darkness, that he could begin to understand it, but it just wasn't possible. Ben cast light on everything he touched, that was just who he was.

"I know." Evie says as she finally breaks away from his gaze. "Can we talk about something else?"

Evie can see that Ben doesn't want to do that, that he wants to keep pushing until he fixes all of her problems, but he holds back and nods. 

"Sure." Ben says. He pulls their intertwined hands to his chest, pressing the back of Evie's hand against his soft blazer. She glances up at him and smiles. Ben was always so good at solidarity. 

"Now presenting: His Majesty King Henry Charming and Her Majesty Queen Cinderella Charming of Charmington and Cinderellasburg." 

"Woah, those are Chad's parents?" Evie gasps, staring at the couple coming down the glittering steps to the ballroom floor.

"Yep." Ben says, glancing over his shoulder at the glowing pair. "They're much more...decent than Chad." He assures her. 

Evie had always dreamed of meeting Prince Charming one day. When she met Chad, she had thought her dreams had come true. But her golden boy hadn't quite turned out to be the fairytale she'd been dreaming of. Cinderella and King Charming looked exactly as Evie had thought they would though. She'd only ever seen them on the staticy screen of her TV back on the Isle whenever they were on ACTV. (Auradon City TV. One of the two stations that ever played on the Isle.)

Cinderella was radiant in her golden ballgown, cut away from her shoulders with a beautiful decollete neckline, diamonds glinting from where they laid across her exposed clavicles, playing off the sparkle of her smile. Evie's fingers itched to commit the design to paper so she could incorporate some of the beautiful details into her next project. She marveled at the dress almost as much as she marveled at the woman in it. Evie could see where Chad had gotten his shiny blonde hair and glittering hazel eyes. Any other resemblance was lost on Evie. King Charming was just as beautiful, with his brown hair styled like a 1950's dreamboat and his perfectly tailored white suit with golden accents. Evie was almost jealous of their tailor. 

"Evie, stop staring and say hello." Ben murmured into her ear as he turned around. Evie hadn't even noticed that the Charmings were approaching them. Her breath caught in her throat as the two glided across the room in perfect sync, Cinderella's dress just barely grazing the floor as she walked. 

"Hello, Ben." Cinderella greeted with a dazzling smile. "You've gotten so tall!" She said and Evie was mesmerized by the way her voice sounded exactly like a lazy summer day. Now that Evie got a closer look at her, she could see more resemblances between her and Chad. Her hair was the exact same shade of honey blonde, her eyebrows had they same expressiveness to them and the set of her lips was almost exactly like Chad's. (Evie wasn't absolutely sure, because she'd never seen Chad in red lipstick, but...)

"Hi, Ella." Ben smiled back warmly, letting go of Evie's hand to hug Cinderella in a much more than Kingly kind of way. Ben had mentioned that he and Chad had grown up together, but Evie hadn't ever really thought about the implications of that. 

"Ben, my boy, you look more like your mother everyday." King Charming gave Ben a teasing smile and--- _Oh, that's where Chad gets his smirk._

"King, it's so nice to see you again." Ben smiles, shaking the King's hand with both of his.

"Who is your beautiful friend, Benjamin?" Ella asks. "This couldn't be that blue haired Isle girl I've been hearing so much about." Evie swears that her heart stops beating for a few seconds as Cinderella's attention turns toward her.

"Ella, King, This is Evie LaReine. She's my royal adviser and one of my dear friends." Ben introduces, sounding so fond as he puts a hand on Evie's back.

"Ah, yes. The young lady who sprayed my son with a sleeping potion." King Charming says, his deep voice rumbling through the air. Not only does Evie's heart stop, but so does her breathing. She freezes as the three of them stare at her. And then their laughing and Evie stares, feeling out of the loop.

"Uh."  _Don't "Uh", Genevieve. Princesses do not say "Uh"!_ Her mother chides in her head, louder than she'd ever heard her in the past few months. Evie took in a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, that was me." Evie puts on her best fake smile. 

"Bravo, Miss LaReine." King Charming grins, clapping a silk gloved shoulder on Evie's shoulder. "A girl who stands up for herself is a girl who deserves all my admiration."

Evie is absolutely and completely awestruck. Of all the things Evie thought would happen, King Charming praising her for putting his son into a temporary coma was not one of them. 

"Evie and her friends are all very admirable people." Ben says, rubbing circles into the space between Evie's shoulder blades. "Jay Sulatana is our star Tourney player, Carlos De Vil is an amazing engineer and Mal Fae has won the school multiple awards for her incredible art." Ben gestures with his free hand. The Charmings look impressed and that relieves Evie a little. "And Evie here is not only my adviser, but she's also one of Auradon Preps highest ranking honor students." 

"You're going to make me blush, Ben." Evie jokes as soon as she feels like she can breathe normally again. Cinderella and King Charming both laugh. Ben looks down at her with a fond smile. 

"You're all quite impressive." Cinderella says. "But, Evie darling, can I ask you to do something for me?" Cinderella takes Evie's hand in both of hers.

"Anything." Evie says perhaps a little too quickly as she nodded emphatically. 

"Try to keep Chad out of trouble, will you?" Cinderella peers into Evie's eyes and Evie starts forgetting how to breathe again. "He's a good boy, but sometimes that royal ego of his can get him into some tight spots." Evie's nodding before she even really processes what Cinderella is saying. 

_Wait--keep Chad out of trouble? Chad Charming? The guy that it has basically become tradition for new Tourney players to punch? Oh boy._

"I'll try my best." Evie smiles. 

_*_

 "Now presenting: His Majesty King Naveen and Her Majesty Tiana Emmason of Maldonia and d'e bayou New Orleans."

"Are you alright, Evie?" Ben asks as soon as the Charmings had made there way across the room and he and Evie had taken to waltzing again. 

"What do you mean?" Evie asks, still smiling widely after the encounter. Her hands were shaking in his as the waltzed past Jasmine and Aladdin.

"I mean are you alright?" Ben says after waving at the couple. "I know you've been under a lot of stress. Especially with Finals coming up and Mal... I just want to know if you're doing okay." Ben is always so genuine and caring and cotton candy sweet and the way he's looking at Evie makes her want to break down in his arms. But she resists. That'd be in bad taste at his mother's birthday party, wouldn't it?

"I'm alright. It'll blow over." Evie said, but really, she had no idea if it would _blow over_...and if she were being honest, she was not _alright_. She hated not talking to Mal. She hated Mal being mad at her. She hated finals and she hated sleeping alone and she really really hated Mal dressing herself, because that usually meant lace and leather or sweatpants and messy buns, and sure that could be a look, but not _everyday_. 

"Now presenting: His Majesty Beast Evolent and Her Majesty Belle Evolent! Let the birthday festivities begin!" The orchestra changed it's tune, now playing an upbeat song with loud brass instruments and aggressive violins. Ben hardly heard Evie when she asked: "What's your dad's actual name?"

-*-

 _Wumpth!_ Evie fell face first onto her bed, the fluffy blue covers breaking her free fall. 

 _I can't believe the day I've had._ Evie thought as she kicked off her heels.  _If tomorrow is any more stressful than today I'm going to need one of Carlos'---brownies?_

Evie's head snapped up as a sweet, _familiar_  scent drifted through the room. She sniffed the air and all but moaned. She hadn't even realized how hungry she was. Scrambling to her feet in almost dream like state, she followed her nose to the door. Her hand struggled with the doorknob before she flung the door open and--

"Carlos?" She called, looking left and then right, peering each way down the moonlight dappled hallway. Nothing met her searching eyes except for dust floating through the air like pixie dust and that weird, tarnished brass statue of the three headed dog sitting next to the oak table across the hall.

The smell was strong though, she knew those brownies had to be-- _Oh!_ Her toes hit something hard and metallic. 

Evie grinned down at the pan of brownies at her feet. A white napkin with familiar messy script scrawled across it and a bottle of grape juice with a snake-shaped handed accompanied the delicious looking brownies. She leaned down and picked up the pan and bottle of glistening purple liquid. 

 _Aw, it's still warm._ Evie thinks with a smile.

**_For Genevieve: Brownies for you and your woes. Secrets for you to disclose._ **

_Weird. But Carlos-y._ Evie thinks as she kicks her door closed behind her.

_*_

"You know the funny thing about you, Carlos?" Evie's voice slurs from the speaker of Carlos' phone. "You're like, my _beeeeest_ friend." Evie's voice continues, growing graveling and low in that Evie way as she draws out her words. "Don't tell Jay. He's a sensitive soul...Or Mal. She already hates me right now." Carlos can hear the sadness in her voice even through the obvious inebriation and it makes him frown. "Anyway...anyone who would hurt you is someone I would murder probably. But...you'd have to help me get rid of the body, kay?" and then Evie's voice dissolves into giggles.

"Do you remember when you and me hung out in your treehouse? Not that time with the laser-dome-breaking-machine-thingy...that time after we all got kicked out of our houses because we were ' _such disappointments_.'" Evie drops her voice low to mimic their collective parents as she rambled on. "And Jay and Mal had ' _better places to be_ ' after hanging out with us all night or whatever. That was so much fun. Just you and me. We need to do that again." Evie's voice was getting more and more slurred as she babbled on.

"Carlos, what did you put in these brownies? They're _amaaaazing_!" Evie chirps. "How did you get the top glaze to kind of look like ivy leaves? That's so fucking cool, Carlos. You're so fucking cool. Carlos."

There's a pause that's filled with the static-y, muffled sound of liquid being dramatically slurped from a cup, coughing and then laughter (and a little more coughing).

"Do you remember when your mom accidentally ran over Beelzebub, told you he ran away and then turned him into gloves? That was messed up. Like, who does that, amirite?" Carlos rolled his eyes. Evie did this every single time she got intoxicated. Rambled on about the past to avoid talking about the present. "But, Carlos, Carlos, Carlos....I just want you to know, no matter how in fashion dog pelt my ever be, I will never skin Dude, okay? I love you. I love Dude. I'll knit you both another set of matching scarves. I love you guys." The next pause in Evie's babbling is filled with chewing rather than slurping this time. Carlos can hear something else in the background, something that sounded a lot like a violin or a harp or something.

"Carlos. I'm a better friend than Jace and Harry were, right?" Evie asks, and her voice is laced with sadness again. "Right now, I don't feel like a good friend. Ben has mostly forgiven me after the  _incident,_ Jay probably wouldn't stop being my friend unless I destroyed all of his Tourney medals...but he's so loyal to Mal and--Oh, Mal...." Evie trails off.

"Okay, okay, that's enough." Evie groans, waving Carlos off. Carlos taps the screen of his phone and slips it into the pocket of his tailored shorts. "Note to self: Hide my phone from drunk me, I get it." Evie sits up in the cocoon of blankets she'd fashioned herself in Carlos' bed.

"Yeah, that's a good plan, E." Carlos says. "But that's not the problem..."

"Is it that I broke into your room in the middle of the night and tried to knit a sweater directly onto you? Because, again, I'm sorry."

"No. No. It's not that. It that I didn't leave those brownies for you. I didn't even leave that juice either." Carlos says "Someone else drugged you."

-*-

Evie was uncomfortable, Jay could see it. She was sitting stock still, like a statue in her moth eaten velvet seat. Every bump the carriage hit, the paler her face would go underneath all of the soot and dirt dusted across her cheeks. Jay almost felt bad for her, almost. The carriage rattled horribly every time they hit a hole in the road or rock that had tumbled down from the cliff faces surrounding the road. Jay was impressed how still Evie managed to stay, hardly moving at all when the carriage wheel hit the root of a gnarled black tree.

Mal's head, her purple hair tousled and disheveled and her pale cheeks just as smudged with dirt as Evie's (and Jay's and Carlos') was resting against Evie's shoulder, and as thrilled as Jay knew Evie was that Mal seemed to like her now, he could see the terror on her face every time the carriage shook to much and Mal mumbled a little louder in her sleep.

Ten minutes into their journey, when Mal was snoring softly and Carlos had dozed off too, Evie started to relax. Jay watched it happen, watched the way her face softened and that  _I'm royalty and don't forget it_ posture of hers started to melt away. He watched her glance at Mal, taking in her sleeping features. Jay knew what was going through Evie's mind. It was the same thing that had gone through his mind the first time he'd slept over at Mal's house, the first time he'd seen her look so peaceful and...not Mal. Sometimes it was hard looking at Mal for too long when she was awake. Something about the intensity of her eyes, the twitch at the corners of her mouth, the acknowledgment. It was like looking at a jaguar, only scary if they see you too.

Mal murmured nonsense in her sleep. Most of it, Jay ignored. It was usually death threats and fragments of evil plans, nothing that ever really interested Jay. Jay watched Evie's eyebrows knit as she listened to whatever Mal was murmuring now. "You'll be alright. It'll be alright, mother." Mal mumbled, turning her head to press her cheek into Evie's shoulder.

 _Mal saved her. Mal Fae saved someone. Mal did something that was in someone else's best interest._ Jay thought as he watched Evie gently rub the back of Mal's hand, trying to soothe her or whatever.  _Does that mean she and Evie are...friends now? Does that mean she's gotten over the birthday thing, cause that'd be great._

Mal's fists clenched and she mumbled something that sounded a lot like: "Stupid bird. Get away from me."

Evie whispered soft shushes as Mal's nose crinkled. Jay could only imagine what it was like inside of that head of Mal's. He could only imagine what it was like being Maleficent's daughter. He knew what it was like being the son of one of the big bad's of the golden era of Villains, but not _The Big Bad._ At least Jafar payed attention to him. At least he claimed Jay as his son. At least Jafar seemed to actually care about him sometimes. Maleficent only cared about Mal when it was convenient for her. Jay hated that.

"Leave the baby alone. It's okay. You're okay." Mal mumbled as the carriage tipped precariously to one side.

"Shhh." Evie whispered, gently patting Mal's knee. 

 _Evie and Mal. Ask me a week ago and I would have told you there was no way in hell that those two would be saving each others lives or cuddling up in a carriage together._ Jay glanced at Carlos, his boots in Jay's lap and drool soaking the moth eaten velvet seat next to his face.  _Ask me a week ago and I'd tell you there was no way in hell any of us would be in the carriage together._

The carriage jerked suddenly as the groaning wooden wheels hit the uneven pavement of the main road into The City. Jay grabs Carlos by the collar of his shirt, keeping him from tumbling off of the seat as the left wheel of the carriage hit another root with a:

-*-

_SLAM!_

Evie shot up into the air like a cork from a bottle, a startled squeak coming out of her mouth. She spun around on her heels, sparkly brown eyes wide as she stared at the person who'd slammed her door.

Mal, purple hair pulled into a messy bun and a frown on her pink lips, was storming across the room toward her, her hands clenched into pale fists and her emerald eyes flashing dangerously.

"M-Mal. Wha--" It was all Evie could get out before Mal shut her up.


	5. Reflections on the past, things change so fast.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pals!  
> Oooooooh man. It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm sorry, I've been very busy, many things happened and yeeeah. 
> 
> Anyway, this fic should actually start updating again. I'm gonna say at least once monthly or more. I've got most of it written at this point, but who knows, amirite?
> 
> Anywho, sorry this chapter is kind of short, I cut a lot of it to add to details later in the story, so for the most part, this is just backstory.
> 
> Next chapter will be plot! Actual, real life, plot! omg! Hahaha.
> 
> Enjoy!

"And this is my room." Jay's muscle bound arm arched out in a grand, sweeping gesture to an anything but grand or sweeping scene.

His _'room'_   was a tiny space pushed as far back into his father's crowded junk shop as one could go. The only thing distinguishing it from the rest of said shop were torn, moth eaten tapestries pinned up to form three makeshift walls. It seemed to be the least cluttered area in the entire building, but Evie still found herself tripping over piles of discarded books, broken appliances and more of Auradon's _finest_ garbage as Jay guided her into his room.

"You can sit on my bed if you want." He says after a long few seconds of watching Evie's expression. He jerked his thumb toward a thick stack of rugs pushed into the corner of his room just beneath a bowing shelf full of heavy looking, ancient TV sets. An almost completely flattened pillow and a dirt smudged sheet were tossed haphazardly across the rugs, the only real indication that anyone _slept_ there.

 _That can't be his bed..._ Evie thinks as she glanced around the shop for a real mattress or a beanbag or anything more comfortable and inviting than the scratchy looking rugs before her.  _That bed isn't even fit for a dog!_

"Wait right here." Jay said, pulling her wide eyed attention back to him. Evie nods and shifts from foot to foot when he disappears behind one of the tapestries for a few moments, leaving her alone in the shop with the creepy taxidermy animal heads staring at her and the crushing weight of the reality of Jay's home life pressing down on her.

"Okay." She whispered as she began to pick at her nail polish. She already needed to repaint them, so it didn't really matter if she chipped off a bit of the glossy blue finish, right?

Evie tucked her scarlet lip between her teeth as she glanced around Jay's room. Other than the shelf of TV's threatening to fall on Jay's _bed_ at any given moment ( _Maybe while he's asleep in it._ ) and the bed itself, there wasn't much to his room. Just a few trinkets here and there, a lot of dust and two dark fish tanks. Evie had seen worse, _of course_ she had seen worse. She lived on the Isle too. No matter how far away Mal and her mother sent her, she wasn't spared the knowledge of how badly things had degraded since her 6th birthday. Jay was lucky to have a roof over his head and a stack of rugs to sleep on by Isle standards. But knowing that didn't make the turning feeling in the pit of Evie's stomach any better and--

"I've held onto this for a while." Jay's voice startles Evie as he all but materializes behind her, like he _always_ did, with a smirk on his lips. She whipped around on her heels to give him a look, but his gaze was cast down at his feet. Evie raises her eyebrows, her own gaze travelling down to what was resting in his hands. It was long and skinny and wrapped in slightly torn and faded yellow paper.

 _It's a box?_  Evie realized.

"I was going to give it to you during your birthday party...but." He presents the rectangular box out to her, held in his palms like an offering to a god or a royal. 

"Aw, Jay!" Evie gasped, delight lighting up her features, erasing the worry and unease as she plucked the box from his hands. "You've kept this for ten years?" She asked with disbelief, holding the gift in her fingers like a precious little baby bird.

"Yeah... No biggie." Jay rubed the back of his neck as he turned his face away from her. She still caught sight of the blush that darkened his tan cheeks. "I kept Lagan and Derelict, too." He said as he jerked his thumb toward the two big fish tanks pressed against the wall. Both fish tanks were cracked and threatening to shatter completely at any moment if the tables they were sitting on didn't give out first. Evie's dazzling smile grew wider as she eyed the huge, grey-green eels sleeping in their too small tanks. "I might have to let them go soon, though. Can't find bigger tanks..." Jay murmurs. "Maybe I'll dump them in Dragon Hall's pool." He grins when Evie's head swiveled around to stare at him.

"Dragon Hall..." Evie mused as her fingers find the edge of the thin wrapping paper. She slips her fingernail along it until she finds the little piece of brittle tape barely holding it closed. She carefully peeled the wrapping paper back as if it were made of gold rather than reused paper in faded Auradon Yellow. The long rectangular box inside the paper was just cardboard, with her name scribbled on the lid of it in faded black marker and messy handwriting. It was what was underneath the lid that made Evie's eyes go wide with wonder and awe.

"A crown?" Evie gasps. "How---wh--Why didn't you _sell_ this, Jay?" Evie asked, her sparkling eyes drinking in every single detail of the crown as she plucked it from its box.

No, it wasn't a _real,_ Auradonian crown. Far from it, in fact. The crown was made of thick rusted wires and mismatched and cracked jewels that glittered and winked in different degrees of brilliance like a broken car window. The rusty wires were welded together and bent at the top to make four beautiful stars with shards of diamonds and crystal inlaid into them. The stars' jewels twinkled in the sunlight filtering into the shop through the cracks in the roof above their heads, the twinkle reflecting in Evie's wide eyes. In the center of the crown was one complete diamond, cracked and chipped and only slightly larger than the other jewels. It was held up higher than the stars, wires wrapped around the bottom of it to keep it in place. The way it twinkled reminded Evie of the North Star, the only star bright enough to be seen through the magical dome placed over the Isle. Evie fell in love with it completely, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes as she stares at it. Evie thinks it had to be the most beautiful thing she'd ever laid eyes on. 

"I forgot about it til now." Jay lied as Evie threw her arms around his shoulders, shaking with almost sobs and babbled thank yous.

-*-

"I'm scared." Evie admits.

"Of what, dear?" Snow asks, her blues eyes scanning down the laminated menu in her pale hands. 

"What might happen if Mal doesn't forgive me." Evie murmurs, her fingers drawing lazy designs into the condensation coating the side of her water glass. "If my friends find happiness without me." Evie worries her scarlet tinted bottom lip between her teeth when Snow's eyes flicker up to meet hers, flinching at the amount of honestly that rang in her own words.

"Evie, pumpkin, I've only known you for a few days and I know for a fact that you and your friends are as thick as thieves...Er..." Snow's smooth voice comes to a faltering and brief stop. "I mean....meant to be together no matter what." She corrects herself with the finesse of a well practiced newscaster and then laughs, the sound reminding Evie of birds singing. Evie is almost blinded by how white and perfect Snow's teeth are. She wonders if that's how she became so successful. If her beauty or her brain didn't get her out of a jam, her laughter and her blinding teeth probably could.  _Her dentist must really like her, too._

"Yeah." Evie smiles halfheartedly as she glances over her own menu, getting more distracted by the looping font at the top that says **_Doc's place: Home of the Heigh Ho Hot Dog!_** than the actual food items and prices. "It's silly, but I'm just afraid that...here they'll find themselves a real princess...or someone smarter than me or...more talented or something. That's kind of dumb isn't it?"

"No." Snow shakes her head, her glossy black hair swishing around her face. "It's normal to feel insecure when you're fighting with a close friend. What's silly is for you to think that's they'd _want_ anyone else but you." Snow puts her menu down on the perforated metal table between them and captures Evie's gaze again. Evie was pretty sure she couldn't look away if she tried. "Those friends of yours are lucky to have you, sweetie. And Mal will come around, I'm certain."

Evie's cheeks flush with a dusting of pink as she ducks her head and smiles. "Thanks." She murmurs. "I hope your right." Evie is relieved when Snow picks up her menu again and her attention isn't on her anymore. Evie hides her worried eyes behind the menu again and tries to focus on choosing something to eat.  _Maybe the ruby salad? Pomegranate seeds sound nice right now._

"There’s no use in grumbling when raindrops come tumbling. Remember, you’re the one who can fill the world with sunshine." Snow sings softly as she thumbs through the menu.

_*_

_SLAM!_

Evie shrieked and jumped into the air, her blue curls bouncing wildly around her shoulders as her feet returned to the carpet and she spun around to stare at Mal with wide eyes and parted lips.

Mal knew she probably looked like a mess, in her too big sweater and her slightly paint stained joggers and her haired pulled into the messiest of buns and only a light layer of mascara on her long eyelashes but, _Lucifer, I don't care_.

"M-Mal. Wha--" Mal clenched her fists and took three long strides across the room, closing the gap between her and Evie. Mal's fists rise in the air and swing toward Evie and---

_-*-_

Evie felt her heart skip a beat--or three--as Mal strode towards her, and then it stopped all together when Mal's pale fists swung past her head and--and her arms wrapped around Evie's shoulders, pulling her towards herself.  _  
_

Moments passed before the realization truly hit Evie.

 _Mal_  was hugging her.

 _Mal_  was  _hugging_ her.

 _Tightly_.

An embarrassing whimper slipped passed Evie's pink glossed lips as Mal tugged her closer, pressing against her like she was trying to blur the line of where she ended and Evie began in some desperate attempt to make up for the past two weeks of being way too far apart.

Evie's brain stuttered and struggled to start, like an engine trying to turn over without enough gas, before fully processing the situation.

Evie melted against Mal's small frame, sliding her arms around her waist and resting her chin against her shoulder. She smelled like spray paint and _Carlos's room_ but she felt like home. 

"I'm sorry." Mal says and the relief that washed through Evie's entire body made her tremble in Mal's embrace. She could feel Mal's laughter as it rumbles through her chest, muffled against the shoulder of Evie's silk button up.

"You know I’ll support you no matter what, Eves." Mal mumbles when her laughter subsided. "Unless I think it’s really dumb, then I’ll tell you. But I don't think this is dumb. And...and I was dumb for being a jerk about it...so I'm sorry." Mal babbles her words into Evie's shoulder and Evie was struck with how honest she sounded when she said _''I'm sorry''_.

"I missed you." Evie mumbles lowly into Mal's hair, fondness curling around every syllable of the sentiment. Mal laughs again and it sounds like music to Evie as she let Mal push her backward.

-*-

"I missed you, too." Mal says as she runs a hand through Evie's hair, capturing a strand between her fingers to play with. The rest of Evie's dark blue hair was fanned out over her matching pillowcases and the contrasting yellow of Mal's sweater sleeve.

 _Isn't this the sweater Jay stole from Ben?_ Evie thinks as she ghosts her fingertips along the seam running up Mal's side. She rests her fingers on the the thick fabric draped over Mal's ribs. Evie can just barely feel the outline of the gauze taped there.

"And....I understand that you need to do this...You know, go on an adventure and find whatever it is that you... _need_....I just..." Mal trails off and the seconds of silence that follow weighs on Evie. She can hear Mal's heartbeat, a strangely comforting sound thumping beneath Evie's head steadily. "Nevermind."

Evie is always careful to never be too  _affectionate_  with Mal. She didn't want to scare Mal off or suffocate her like she was afraid she might. Mal was all but allergic to the full spectrum of human emotion and intimacy _sometimes_....A lot of the time. Evie didn't know the standards, didn't have the rule book that dictated Mal's world and the values of too much and too little. Evie never quite knew what was okay and what was _too soft_ for Mal.

Back on the Isle, it was a little easier. Evie only touched Mal if it was necessary, unless they were behind closed--and locked doors. Mal was in charge of any other kind of interactions when they were in public. They never talked about it, but those were the rules. Those were the rules for almost everyone on the Isle. But here in Auradon, things were _different_. Everything was _different_ in Auradon.

"It's not that you...and Carlos and Jay aren't _enough_." Evie says as she props herself up on one elbow so she can look at Mal's face. "You guys are my family. You're the most important things in the world to me." Evie says it with such sincerity that Mal wants to flinch away, wants to close herself off to the intensity of Evie warm, bright eyed stare. Mal wants to because she knows the _warm, fuzzy_ feeling washing over the inside of her rib cage was going to be replaced with hurt someday. It _always_ was.

"But, I need this, Mal. You were the one who got us here, you're the one who convinced us to stay, you found your place here...all of this was your adventure. I was just following you." Evie says as she brushes Mal's bangs out of her face with a gentle brush of her fingers. "I think this, whatever it is, is _my_ adventure." She gives Mal a little smile that tugs just ever so slightly at the corners of her mouth, hope burning in her eyes.

Mal frowns a little as Evie's cold fingertips trace the curve of her cheek.Mal's frown deepens when it reflects in Evie's expression, peering back at her with worry replacing the hope in her eyes. 

"Mal?" Evie tilts her head a little, her eyes sweeping over Mal's features, from her stormy green eyes to the frustration making the muscles of her jaw flex to the way her bottom lip slid out just a bit, making her look more like the pouty, frustrated six year old from Evie's memory than the bad ass 17 year old woman everyone here in Auradon knew her as.

"I understand." Mal says slowly, her expression melting into a small, slightly forced smile. Mal knows that Evie can tell it's fake by the way she just nods and lays her head back down onto Mal's chest and with a sigh.

"Okay." Evie whispers softly, letting her eyes flutter closed. 

"Okay." Mal echoes.

Evie's bed springs creak a little as Evie shifts closer to Mal, tucking one of her knees between hers.

Cold air raises goosebumps along Evie's skin where her thigh high socks don't reach and her skirt has hiked up too far to cover. She hadn't washed her face or her hair yet, but with how soothing Mal's fingers felt, running through her hair, and how nice the sound of her heartbeat was underneath her head, she couldn't bring herself to care. She let her eyes flutter shut and---

-*-

Mal yawned dramatically, stretching her arms high above her head as she relished in the feeling of her lethargic muscles stretching the sleep out. Mal let herself go limp a moment later, her arms falling out of the air and onto Evie’s bed just as the rest of her body did. The scent of cinnamon and apples swirled up around her as she settled back into the warmth and comfort of Evie’s fluffy blue blankets.

Mal turned her head toward the bathroom door at the muffled sound of Evie's voice, singing a familiar tune. "Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who's the baddest of them all?" Steam drifted out from under the wooden door with Evie's voice. A smile curled Mal's lips as she listened, turning her head toward the ceiling again.

Mal’s mind began to wander as her crystal clear emerald eyes stared up at the panels of the ceiling above her. There, on the panel directly above the canopy of Evie’s bed, was a slice marring it’s smooth surface. A fond smile tugged at Mal’s dry lips as she recalled the memory of Jay’s sword, glinting in the lamplight, stuck in the panel Halloween night, a terrified look on his face. 

“You can’t win this battle, Mal!” Jay’s voice echoed in Mal’s mind. “I’m a knight! You’re just a fairy!”

“A bad ass fairy.” Evie chimed in from where she and Carlos sat cross-legged, stitching the last few touches onto their costumes, Evie tossed her perfectly curled blue hair and a certifiably flirty wink over her shoulder at Mal. 

“With a sword!” Carlos chirped, holding up his fashionably tattered werewolf costume to inspect it for any detail that was less than (perfectly) disheveled.

The soles of Jay’s leather riding boots hit the blankets of Mal’s bed, flinging the purple comforter off  and onto the floor as he leaped off the bed. Jay dodged the wide swing of Mal’s blade as he rolled across the glitter sprinkled hardwood floor to Evie’s bed. The bedside lamp’s light gleamed off of Mal’s sword as it sliced through the air mere inches from Jay’s face. _RIIIIIP!_ The sharp metal pierced the royal blue Egyptian cotton sheet next to Jay’s head and–they both froze in place, staring at the torn fabric.

Evie, who had just sewn the last golden swirl into the black velvet bodice of her Halloween dress, looked up, perfect eyebrows raised at the two frozen teenagers.

“I’ll be angry about that tomorrow.” Evie waved them off, snipping off the extra thread from her latest creation. Jay and Mal let out a breath of relief in unison, the color returning to their faces as Evie stood up and brushed the glitter and fabric scraps off of herself.

“Love you, E.” Mal and Jay said, again in unison. They looked at each other and squinted for a few seconds. Mal stuck out her tongue and Jay crinkled his nose, making a few mocking noises.

“Yeah, yeah.” Evie said, back turned to them. They stopped making faces instantly when she whirled around on her heels, her blue hair fanning out around her shoulders as she did. “I’m great. Feel free to tell me that all the time.” She grinned.

“You’re great.” Jay said.

“You’re the light of my life.” Mal smirked, elbowing Jay in the ribs. He frowned.

“Yeah, well…You’re the moon and stars to me, Evie.” Jay shouted, a little forcefully for such a sugary sentiment as he hip checked Mal.

“Yeah, but I love you the most, so.” Mal said teasingly as she shoved him back and grinned widely at Evie.

“Not possible because I love you more than I love Sharknado and you know how much I love Sharknado.” Jay growled, trying to smack Mal’s hand away as she reached to tug on his hair.

“Yeah, well I hate Sharknado because it’s a dumb movie and I want to punch whoever allowed there to be three of them…but I love you way more than I hate Sharknado.” Mal slapped Jay’s hand as he started retaliating by poking at her glitter peppered cheeks.

“I LOVE YOU MORE THAN MAL DOES BECAUSE MAL IS LAME AND SO IS EVERYTHING SHE DOES.” Jay yelled as he and Mal slapped each other’s hands repeatedly and tugged at each other’s hair.

“YEAH, WELL THAT’S TOO BAD BECAUSE NO MATTER WHAT, EVIE LOVES ME MORE BECAUSE I’M COOLER THAN YOU SO THAT MAKES YOU SUPER LAME!” Mal shouted back as Jay started trying to put her in a headlock. 

“I love you too, by the way, Evie.” Carlos chimed in, cursing when he pricked his finger for the umpteenth time that night.

“Alright. Well…” Evie said as she watched Mal and Jay stick their tongues out at each other and try to wrestle each other to the ground. “Love you guys, too.” She said with a roll of her eyes.

No sooner had she disappeared into the bathroom to change than Jay and Mal were at it again, blades unsheathed and clanging loudly against each other. Jay somersaulted backward over Evie’s bed, his sword drawn as soon as his feet hit the floor on the other side. The clang of metal filled the air around them again as Mal’s sword hit Jay’s saber. Jay kept a cocky grin on his face, though the back of his neck was getting a little sweaty as he blocked all of Mal’s attacks.

“Guys. Be careful!” Carlos protested as Jay nearly stepped on him. He gathered up the fabric of his costume and scooted back across the floor, a frown pulling at his face. “You’re gonna hurt each other. Or me!”

“Yeah, give up before you get hurt, Jay.” Mal singsonged breathlessly as she jumped on top of Evie’s bed and slammed the pommel of her sword into the cross-guard of Jay’s, sending him stumbling backward, nearly trampling Carlos.

“Never!” Jay laughed, sprinting forward. He leaped full bore onto Evie’s bed, his sword hitting Mal’s so hard sparks flew off the metal. It didn’t distract either of them as the continued to duel, throwing jeers and teases and elbows at each other. Carlos watched in mortified awe, stuffing a few pieces of candy he’d already gotten in class that day into his mouth. Mal’s bright green eyes looked absolutely vicious as she slashed with deadly force at Jay, the smile on her pouty pink lips looking more dangerous than Carlos had ever seen it in a long while. Jay smirked just as wickedly, meeting each one of her blows with a block and some clever taunt. The muscles of his arms bulged beneath his tan skin as he sliced powerfully toward the tight emerald green corset of Mal’s fairy costume. (The one Evie had made for her months in advance because she knew Mal was going to forget to get a costume until the day of Halloween, like she always did.)

The sleeveless knight and the _“Did I say adorable? I meant adorabloodthirsty!”_ fairy would have probably traded blows until Evie and Carlos dragged them out of the room by their collars if it weren’t for— _SHINK!_

“Oh fuck…” Jay’s wide eyed gaze met Mal’s. Her eyes followed his as he glanced up at the tip of his sword, now embedded into the panel above their heads.

“Sit down and don’t tell Evie about this until she notices it in a week?” Mal suggested.

“Yes, ma'am.” Jay replied quickly, tugging his sword out of the ceiling. He slid his feet out from under himself and landed on the bed next to Mal, both of them bouncing a bit on impact with the uberspringy mattress.

“She’s gonna notice that immediately, guys.” Carlos said, eyeing the obvious slice in the ceiling as he popped another piece of candy into his mouth.

“Maybe she won’t if you aren’t staring at it, Carlos.” Mal growled, sheathing her sword.

“Staring at what?” Evie asked, appearing in the doorway of the bathroom and—

“Woah.” Jay, Mal and Carlos breathed in unison, the ceiling and the plaster dust still on the blade of Jay’s sword completely forgotten.

“Do you guys like it?” Evie grinned widely, spinning around for her awestruck friends. Beautiful red silk lined with white, black tool and shimmering accents of gold twirled around her legs, stitched together into an absolutely perfect skirt. A matching red silk cloak hung from her shoulders, cascading down her back and over the black velvet corset covering her torso, laced together with a golden ribbon that ran down the middle of her chest to where her skirt began. Her cheeks were as rosy as ever as she smiled at them and her lips just as sinfully red as the apples in the wooden basket hanging from her arm. Her blue curls came down like a waterfall around her face, underneath the scarlet hood of her cloak.

_Knock knock knock!_

Mal was brought back to the present by an almost timid sounding round of knocks on her door.

_Knock knock knock!_

The knocks were to a familiar tune. _An annoying familiar tune_. Mal heaved herself up off of Evie’s bed and trudged across the room, a scowl already forming on her face. She knew that tune, it was the tune he always knocked to when he knocked on their door. Every. Single. Time. Mal put a hand on the cold metal doorknob and took in a deep breath. _Be nice. Be good_. Fairy Godmother’s voice chirped in her head. Her hand seemed to turn the knob of it’s own accord and she flung the door open, a frown fixed on her face.

“Heigh ho!” Doug greeted cheerily, waving at her with a wide grin.”Is Evie here?”

“What did you just call me?” Mal’s nose crinkled as she stared at him.

"Wha--no, no! I...that...That isn't...It's a thing...haven't you heard the song?...I didn't mean...I.." Doug stuttered pitifully.

"I'm joking, Doug. Come in." Mal opened the door wider and stepped aside to let the blushing boy through with a less than enthusiastic gesture.

"Oh. Ha...Ha...ha." Doug rubbed the back of his neck as he scurried into the room.

"What're you here for?" Mal asked, shutting the door behind him with a slam that made the boy jump.

"Uh...Um, Evie and I are going to see a movie in Auradon City..." Doug said, speaking as if he were a bit unsure of himself. Everything about Doug seemed unsure right now. He was shifting from foot to foot and avoiding Mal's gaze, keeping his trained on her sneakers rather than her face.

"Oh, really?" Mal raised her eyebrows at him, taking a step closer to him.

"I...Uhm, yes? If...if that's okay?" Doug's eyebrows pressed together and his eyes went huge behind his glasses as they flickered up to meet hers briefly. 

Mal rolled her eyes and shrugged, sitting down slowly on the edge of Evie's mattress. "I'm not her keeper." Mal said, pulling one of Evie's pillows into her lap. Her paint stained fingers traced a faded bloodstain on the royal blue pillowcase as she watched Doug shift awkwardly from foot to foot again in the middle of her room.

"Oh." He said, tugging at his blue bow tie. Mal wondered if Evie had made that for him or if he'd bought it just for tonight. With Doug, it really could have been an either-or situation. "Uhm...We're just going into town for a movie and maybe some dinner and then I'll have her back before curfew..."

"Really? Lame." Mal scoffed, smoothing the wrinkles out of the pillowcase in her lap absentmindedly as she watched him. 

"I'm...sorry?" Doug tilted his head to the side.  _Lucifer,_ _he really does look like a puppy dog._

"If you're going to all the trouble of taking her to the city, you might as well have some fun." Mal said, staring into those puppy Doug--dog eyes of his until he flinched away. She felt the oddest sensation of triumph at intimidating him, even though a squirrel could probably intimidate him if it tried. 

"What do you mean?" Doug asked, his eyebrows pressing even closer together, the space between them turning red.

"Evie's been stressed, I assume that's why you're taking her out, so why not do something spontaneous." Mal says, glancing toward the bathroom door. She runs a hand through her hair and sighs softly.  _Why am I even trying to give this kid advice?_

"Uh...well, if you've met me...then you know I'm not really...spontaneous." Doug made an exploding motion with his hands as he said the word ' _spontaneous_ '. He stood their awkwardly for a few seconds as Mal stared at him incredulously.

"Right. Okay. Anyway." Mal rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Where are you taking her for dinner? Do you know what her favorite food is?"

"Uhm...Apples?" Doug suggested pitifully. "And I was thinking I'd just take her to Doc's restaurant. I get a family discount." Doug flinched a little at the way Mal looked at him as he spoke.

"Oh Lucifer, you're hopeless." Mal groaned. "She likes apples, sure, but her favorite food this month is Fava Bean soup...I think...or literally anything with chocolate on it." Mal said, tossing the pillow off her lap as she stood up. Doug instinctively took a step back as she approached him.

"Th-there's chocolate at Doc's. Lots of chocolate!" Doug stutters as Mal takes another step toward him. He took two backward. 

"I'm sure." Mal says, her piercing green eyes boring into his. She takes three steps toward him and he takes three back and-- _thump._ His back hits the door and he lets out a pathetic whimper. "What movie are you going to see?" Mal asks conversationally as she steps into his space.

"Uhm." Doug tugs at the collar of his light yellow shirt. "The...the new Star Wars just came out."

"Hmmm." Mal rubs her chin, taking another small step toward Doug. She was _officially_ invading his personal space and he looked very uncomfortable about it, like Mal was a venomous snake rather than a _sweet_ , dimple cheeked girl who'd only attempted to murder him at least twice. "She'll probably enjoy that."

"Y-yeah. It'll be out of this world!" Doug smiled nervously. Mal stared at him for a long few seconds, her eyebrows twitching as she watched his expression falter. "I'm sorry. I make bad jokes when I'm nervous."

"So, you're always nervous?" Mal asked.

"Yes." Doug's voice cracks as he replies and Mal has to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing. 

"You know, I used to think there was no man on earth good enough for Evie." Mal said, straightening the lapels on Doug's black blazer. He flinched a little and then relaxed, a smile slowly forming on his lips. "And I still think that." Mal deadpans.

"Oh." Doug chuckled nervously as he pushed his bangs out of his face.

"But you're not so bad." Mal smiled and patted Doug's cheeks, slapping them a bit harder than what could be considered encouraging. "Although, she's going to hate that you paired that blue with that black." Doug looked down at himself as Mal turned on her heels, just as the bathroom door swung opened. 

"Hey, Eves. Doug's here." Mal said as she stepped passed Evie. "For your date." She said, waggling her eyebrows at Evie as she walked toward her.

"Not a date." Evie whispered loudly back at her as Mal stepped past her.

"Sure it's not." Mal grinned wickedly, leaning against the door frame next to Evie. "Have fun, be safe, try not to get arrested." Mal said louder, throwing a glance over her shoulder at Doug. "Back before curfew, right?"

"Y-yes, ma'am." Doug said, bringing his feet together and standing up straight like some naive cadet for (former) King Beast's Ever After Peace Keeper force. Mal was almost surprised when he didn't salute.

"Good boy." Mal smirked before turning her green eyed gaze back to Evie. "Have a good night, princess." She pressed a kiss against Evie's cheek, more to fluster Doug than Evie. It worked well on both of them, a fact that tugged Mal's smirk into a full on cocky smile. Mal disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door before Evie could send a heated glare at her.

Evie shook her head and turned toward Doug, returning his nervous smile as she smoothed out the skirt of her white lace dress. He stepped forward and bowed at the waist dramatically, making Evie giggle, and offered her his arm.

"Doug! That blue does not go with that black!" Evie exclaimed as she crossed the room to take his arm in hers. "Have I taught you nothing?" She smiled brightly at him as she fussed with his bow tie.

"I can change if you want!" Doug offered, his smile growing more genuine as Evie straightened out his blazer. Evie knew for a fact he would, too. She just rolled her eyes at him and let him lead her out, giggling when he opened the door and bowed dramatically again as she walked through. He would have come up with some horrible joke to keep her giggling if he weren't too busy eyeing the blush on Evie's cheeks and the lip gloss still smeared on one of them.

_*_

_A girl. A girl with long, flowing, blue hair and a wide, sparkling smile and big, brown eyes and an adorable dimpled chin._

_A girl who smiled too easily and too genuinely and too much to be on this godforsaken island._

_A girl whose eyes were too bright and too big, just like her heart, to survive here._

_A girl with a voice so sweet yet so laced with danger that she might just be able to fool the inhabitants of this disgusting place into thinking she belonged here._

_But Mal knew better. Mal knew exactly who this girl was, even as she danced around her, golden ribbons tied to her thin fingers, making every one of her graceful movements all the more dramatic._

_Mal knew who she was, but she didn't know why she was here, invading Mal's dreams with her laughter and her smile and her beauty._

_"Come on, Mal." She called sweetly, her koal lined eyes beckoning her in a whole different way. Mal's feet seemed to move of their own accord, tripping through the sand beneath them to keep up with the skipping girl in front of her. She danced around a tree, a huge tree in the middle of the sand, set apart from the other trees that made up the forest just beyond. "Come on!" She called again, waving her forward._

_Mal felt a weight settle in her chest as she watched where the girl was skipping toward, her beautiful blue hair bouncing with every step she took, the ribbons tied to her fingers and the fabric of her draped white dress flowing behind her._

_"Wait!" Mal called. The girl didn't slow down, she just kept dancing toward the edge of the forest. "Wait! Don't go in there!" Mal shouted, trying to run faster. The sand seemed to become looser and more unstable underneath her feet and she started to slip and fall as she scrambled after the girl, desperately trying to catch up._

_"No time to wait!" The girl called back. "Our fate is just beyond!" She turned around briefly to watch Mal stumble through the sand, barely coming within 10 feet of her before she skipped off again, dancing into the darkness of the woods._

_"No! You don't know what's in there! It's dangerous!" Mal shouted desperately, breathlessly and panting as her feet finally hit the dirt and underbrush of the forest floor._

_"Come on, Mal!" She called again as she disappeared behind a tree. "It won't be dangerous if you're with me, will it?" Her voice seemed to be coming from every direction as Mal glanced around for her. Mal followed the sounds of her giggling and every glimpse of blue hair between trees and snaps of twigs underneath bare feet as they ran through the forest. Twigs and sticks and thorns tore open the bottoms of Mal's feet, and dirt and dead leaves were smeared with blood as she ran faster after the dancing girl._

_"Wait! Please!" Mal called, catching a few more glimpses of the girl dancing around trees with a smile on her pretty face. "Slow down! Wait for me!" The girl disappeared again._

_"I told you, there's now time to wait!" Her voice seemed to be bouncing off the moonlit trees around them. Mal's eyes bounced around with it, looking for any physical hint of where the girl had gone, which tree she'd slipped behind, what dark path she'd skipped down--SNAP!THUMP! Mal's ankle caught onto something rough and strong, cutting into her flesh and tripping her to the ground. Moist dirt smeared across her elbows and knees, staining the white fabric draped around her frame and marring her pale skin as she hit the ground. Mal groaned softly into the underbrush, taking a few seconds to be in pain before she got onto her dirt smeared hands and knees and tried to catch her breathe. Her blood dripped into the dirt, turning it into maroon shaded mud, but her bright green eyes weren't focused on that. No, they were focused on the girl standing in front of her, with her hand outstretched to her and the moon shining behind her head._

_"Are you okay?" She asked, her brown eyes burning bright with concern. Concern so genuine and conditionless that it made Mal shiver and glance away._

_"I'm fine." Mal said, taking the girl's hand hesitantly. "Where are you going?" She asked as she used it to tug herself to her feet._

_"On an adventure." The girl replied, lifting a hand to Mal's cheek. Mal flinched on instinct, but the girl didn't pull away, instead she pressed her fingers against Mal's cheek gently, too gently, so gently that it made Mal want to throw up. "And we're late." The girl said as she wiped the dirt smudges off of Mal's pale skin._

_"Why do we have to go?" Mal asked desperately, feeling herself start to melt beneath the girl's tender touch. The way the girl was looking at her made her feel so weak and...human. Mal hated it but she couldn't bring herself to look away this time._

_"Because I need to." The girl said. "And I need you." And then she was letting go of Mal and turning away from her. Moonlight glistened in her blue girls and off of her tan shoulders, making her look like some sort of god. "Come on." She glanced at Mal over her shoulder briefly before taking off into a dead sprint again, leaving Mal behind. The girl was headed straight toward twelve enormous white trees and just beyond---_

_Foreboding hit Mal square in the chest like a sledgehammer, practically knocking the air out of her lungs. Her legs were rushing forward before her brain even completely processed what was happening and when it did all she could do was shout._

_"Wait! Don't go toward those rocks! Something bad is going to happen! Wait!" Mal shouted after the girl sprinting ahead of her. Mal was catching up with her much more quickly this time, but it still wasn't quite enough, she was still too slow. Every time she almost had her, the girl slipped through her fingers. The girl giggled and disappeared behind the rocks before Mal could reach her. "Wait!" Mal forced herself to run faster, sliding to a stop just in front of the huge black rocks. "Evie! EVIE! WAIT!" She shouted desperately._

"Wait!" Mal screamed into the empty night air blowing in through her bedroom window. The whole room was pitch dark around her except for the dull patches of moonlight illuminating the windowsill beyond the foot of her bed. Mal's chest heaved for air and she clawed at the fabric of her shirt above her wildly beating heart. The images from her dream still burned brightly in her mind and it took several moments to calm herself down. She scowled into the darkness, her hands turning into pale fists as she took in a deep breath of _'fresh'_ Isle air. There was only one person to blame for the interruption of Mal's precious few hours of sleep and only one reason why Mal would be dreaming about her.

"Evie LaReine is coming back to school." Mal hissed.

-*-

"There are six types of love, Genevieve." Big brown eyes peered over the edge of a splintering wooden table, following the movements of hands sparkling with winking jewels (or at least the glass and paste she'd bought after she traded in her jewels.)

"Yes, mama." Evie's voice flows past her lips, sounding calm and attentive as ever even if her mind couldn't be any further away.

"And do you know what those six loves are, darling dear?" The Evil Queen purred.

"Uhm...there are...six of them." Evie swallows as her mothers intense gaze lands on her. Evie is tiny compared to the seat she's sitting in. It's a huge wooden chair that at one time must have been meant for a king, with it high, ornately carved back and it's velvet seats. Now the wood was warped and the back was chipped and the velvet had been eaten away at by moths. Evie's feet were several inches off of the floor when she sat in it, a book open in her lap. "And...uhm...they're all important?" Evie guesses desperately.

"Why you hopeless child!" The Evil Queen shrieks, making Evie flinch. "We've gone over this many times! You are nearly 9 years old, it is time for you to start looking for suitors! But how can you possibly do so if you don't even know the mere basics?" The Evil queen lamented, standing up so abruptly that her chair nearly tipped over behind her. She gathered up her dark skirts and began walking down the long table to where Evie sat. Panic zipped up the back of Evie's neck. She knew what was coming next.

"Wait, wait!" Evie wailed. "Eros! A passionate physical and emotional love based on aesthetic enjoyment. It's the most stereotypical type of romantic love." Evie's mouth feels like it's taken on a life of it's own as she recites the words her mother had been teaching her for months.

"And?" Evil Queen arches a perfect eyebrow at Evie, slowing her approach to a languid stroll toward her trembling daughter.

"And it is the easiest love to manipulate with." Evie says. "That's why we villains have no interest in it. It's weak." Evie's fingers curl into the fabric of her corduroy dress.

"Go on, my horrible little sweetie." Evil Queen coaxes, her voice returning to that gentle, appealing tone. It sounded the way a ruby red apple looked, absolutely enticing but no doubt covered in poison. "5 more to go."

"L-Ludus." Evie stutters. "A love that is played as a game or sport. A love that is about conquest. It may involve multiple partners at once." Evie says, watching her mother carefully. 

"And what's important about this kind of love?" Evil Queen asks, settling a perfectly manicured hand on the back of the chair next to Evie's.

"It is the most common on the Isle." Evie squeaks as she avoids her mothers gaze. "It has the least amount of...feelings involved. It's about pride and ego, not the heart." 

"But is it any less powerful than other types of love?" Evil Queen asks.

"No, it's just as easily manipulated." Evie says. "And you can control multiple people at the same time with it."

"Good enough." Evil Queen says with a curl of her lips. "What is the next kind of love, my wicked little blueberry?"

"Storge." Evie says a little more confidently this time. "It's an affectionate love that slowly dev-develops from friendship, based on simil-ar-arity." Evie's lips struggle to form the words she knows by heart and they feel like they get stuck in her chubby cheeks before they stumble out of her mouth.

"And what do we know about Storge, dear?" Evil Queen asks, ignoring Evie's stutter.

"It can easily be faked." Evie says. "Or created with potions." Evie says.

"Right." Evil Queen says as she settles a hand on the back of Evie's chair. "Next."

"Mania. Mania is an obsessive love with great emotional highs and lows. It's very possessive and often involves jealous lovers." Evie recites. "It's very easy to manipulate, especially when you want two lovers to k-kill each other." Evie swallows the saliva gathering in her mouth as the Evil Queen produces an apple from her wide sleeves.

"Correct." She says, turning the apple in her long fingers. "What is the next?"

"Agape." Evie's eyes never leave the shiny surface of the apple in her mother's hand. "Selfless alt-altru-is-istic love. It doesn't exists here on the Isle and it is the most useless kind of love."

"Mhm." The Evil Queen hums, setting the apple down on the table in front of Evie. "Next."

"Pragma, A love that is driven by the head, not the heart." Evie says. "It's the hardest to manipulate but the easiest to control within yourself." Evie jaw clenches together when The Evil Queen's hand comes down to rest on the back of her neck.

"Very good." Evil Queen nods. "What else?"

"It is the only love I am allowed to feel. Anything else would be too weak. I must capture a prince's heart but only love him with my head, so I can always be the one in control." Evie recites the words she feels like she's said a million times. She looks up at her mother hopefully when she finishes.

"Good enough. You may have your dinner." The Evil Queen says, peering down at her daughter for a moment before gathering her skirts in her hands and striding away to some dark corner of the castle Evie had yet to explore yet.

-*-

Evie sighs with relief as she finally kicks her heels off, the metal studs jutting out from the back of the heel clattering noisily against the worn tile of the bathroom. She rubbed her feet, her fingers pressing against the the red indention left by the golden cross straps that were _super cute but not comfortable after five and a half hours_. She pulled the matching royal blue cloak off of her shoulders and hung it up on the bent bronze hook next to the door.

Evie struggled with the zipper of her white lace dress, bending her arm uncomfortably to grab it. She tugged the gold zipper down to the small of her back and shrugged out of the dress. It slipped down her body and pooled on the tiles around her ankles. She stepped out of it and kicked it over to where her discarded heels sat.

When she turned around, her reflection almost caught her off guard. Her makeup was still perfectly in place, her lipstick wasn't smudged a bit, but the garish purple splotch in the center of her chest hadn't gotten any better since that morning. It almost looked worse. Tones of red, green and yellow tinged the edges of the bruise, creeping over her ribs and across her breasts. She winced as she pressed her fingertip into the sickly green that was climbing up to meet her collarbone. 

 _Billiverdin. A product of hemoglobin breaking down._ Evie thought as her fingers traced over the bruise. A lot of the bruise was now tucked beneath Evie's bra, but more of it had spread up and down her chest. It almost looked like Mal had smeared red and green and yellow paint all over her. Evie forced herself to stop staring at it.

Evie's fingers plucked a makeup wipe out of the container sitting next to the sink. She brought it to her face and gently wiped and blotted at her skin. It only took two wipes before her face was completely fresh and clean.

She glanced up at herself in the mirror, taking in her reflection. The gash above her eyebrow had healed almost completely in the past few weeks, only a red mark now, and that was sure to disappear any day now too. The split in her lip had healed relatively slower, but it wasn't much more than a kind of purple mark across the curve of her bottom lip now too. 

Evie leaned closer to the mirror and--She let out an embarrassing yelp as her bare thighs pressed against the cold enamel of the sink. She stumbled backward, covering her mouth as if that'd somehow stop the sound that had escaped her lips from being heard.

"Evie?" A groggy voice called from behind the door.

 _Dammit._ _All the effort of sneaking in quietly: ruined._

"Hey." Evie greeted softly as she pulled the door open to see Mal stumbling out of bed.

"You okay?" Mal asked, rubbing at her eyes. She blinked against the light pouring out of the bathroom a few times and then-- "Lucifer's kittens, Evie!" Mal's bright green eyes went wide at the sight of her. She pressed her hand against the door until Evie let her push it open completely. "You didn't tell me that that bruise had gotten so bad!" Mal exclaimed, pushing Evie back into the bathroom.

"It's not that bad! It just...looks bad!" Evie insisted. Mal kicked the bathroom door closed behind her with her heel. 

"You should have been icing this, Eves." Mal said, reaching behind her to pull one of the many weird jars of odd salves they'd made together for the boy's and their Tourney injuries a few months ago off of the shelves next to the mirror.

"I've been really busy, Mal." Evie insisted weakly, watching Mal unscrew the top of the jar and dip her fingers into the green tinted salve.

"Not an excuse." Mal pressed her fingers against Evie's chest gently, glancing up at her face to make sure she wasn't hurting her as she rubbed the salve into her skin. Evie tucked her bottom lip between her teeth and tried to stay calm beneath the attention of Mal's fingers.

"Really? Let me see your ribs." Evie challenges, raising her eyebrows as Mal's eyes met hers, her fingers slowing slightly on her skin for a moment.

"That's not...the point..." Mal's eyes flicker away from Evie's, concerning herself only with extent of Evie's bruising and making sure she covered the majority of it with the oily salve. "I think there's something in my spell book to heal this a little quicker." Mal said conversationally.

"I don't know about that..." Evie said. 

"Hey, have a little faith, Princess." Mal scowled halfheartedly at Evie. 

"You blew up the toaster in the dorm commons for the fifth time this month last week." Evie said. Mal's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Jay kept me updated." Evie explained slightly more timidly. "The point is, your magic is still unstable and shouldn't be used on living creatures or appliances for a little while, don't you think?"

"I just wanted my poptart to be done faster..." Mal muttered as she wiped her fingers off on the rag sitting on the sink and returned the jar of salve back to it's shelf. "Feel better?" She asked, gesturing to Evie's chest.

Evie nodded slowly and smiled. "Thanks, Mal." She murmured. Evie stepped forward, arms outstretched, with the intention to hug Mal and---Mal put a hand in between them and pushed Evie back a bit. Evie's eyebrows raised and she tilted her head, curiously.

"Put some clothes on first, princess." Mal said. She turned on her heels and headed back into the shadowy darkness of their room.

"I'm a little offended you don't want to hug me half naked, Mal." Evie called after her with a grin, hearing bedsprings creak. 

"Maybe some other time."

-*-

"Why are you he-e-e-re?" Mal groaned miserably. 

"That fucking Freddie girl sucker punched me." Chad grumbled, holding a bag of ice wrapped in a paper towel to his swollen jaw. He slumped into the desk next to Mal's with a huff, tossing his backpack onto the floor between them.

"Freddie kicked your ass?" Mal laughed. "Good on her."

"I think she's got a thing for me." Chad grinned, and then winced, pressing the ice against his face with more pressure. He spared a glance at the Detention Teacher, who was fast asleep and snoring in his chair. 

"I highly doubt that." Mal said, crossing her arms over her chest as she sank a little further into her seat. "I don't think you're her type."

"Why? Does she not date boys?" He asked, suddenly looking much more interested in the conversation. _Creep._  

"First of all: We don't really date on the Isle. It's more like...participating in gang activity together and not slitting each others throats at sleep overs." Mal explained in a bored tone. "Second of all: I don't know how anyone is ever interested in you at all because you're a disgusting human being, but least of all Freddie."

"Aw. Do you like me too?" Chad cackled. He quickly snapped his jaw shut when Mal flipped her spellbook open on her desk. "Joking. Joking." Chad held a hand up in surrender.

"Mhm." Mal said, a little smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"What landed you in here?" Chad asked, too conversationally for Mal's liking.

"Accidentally blew up the toaster in Theta commons again." Mal replied shortly.

"Oh, you did that?" Chad asked, sitting up in his chair suddenly. "You don't even live in the Theta dorms!"

"I'm aware." Mal rolled her eyes. "I already broke the one in my dorm building." Mal said slowly, as if talking to a child.

"You're a monster, a toaster killing monster." Chad growled, dropping his ice pack on his desk angrily. "I didn't get to have my morning bagel because of you."

"Good."

-*-

"So, things are okay with you two now?" Ben asks as he plops himself down on the metal bleacher next to Evie. He pushes his bangs up and off of his sweaty forehead. He nods towards Mal, who was spraying Carlos down with a water bottle as he laid panting and flushed on the fake turf of the indoor Tourney field.

"Yeah." Evie smiles softly, watching Mal laugh as Dude trampled Carlos' heaving form repeatedly, licking his sweaty face and barking loudly. "Things are really great." Evie muses with that far away timbre to her voice.

"Oh?" Ben's teasing tone pulls Evie out of her staring, her head swiveling to face Ben with raised eyebrows. He gave her a playful grin, showing off his shiny teeth as he waggled his eyebrows. He was too cute to really pull off the cocky teasing routine, but it still got a rise out of Evie.

"You wish." Evie growled, her knuckles thudding against his arm noncommittally. "It's kind of surreal though." Evie says, tucking a loose strand of wavy blue hair behind her ear.

"What is?" Ben asks, following her gaze as it wanders back over to Mal. Mal and Jay were now chasing each other around, with Dude and Carlos hot on their heels and one of Ben's golden water bottle being tossed between them.

"Being friends again." Evie says.

"You guys never really stopped being friends, Evie." Ben wipes at the back of his neck with one of the white towels folded in piles at the end of each of the bleachers.

"I know...I just mean..." Evie mulled over the words spinning around in her brain, trying to figure out how to get them to come out in the right order to make the correct sentence to express her emotions. "When I first went back to school on the Isle, Mal's #1 goal was to destroy me and send me back to my castle. She almost did too. But then her mom sent us on that ridiculous quest to get the Dragon's Eye and we went through a lot and... After that, we were just suddenly really really close." Evie mumbles. 

"Mhm." Ben nods, having heard the story in much greater detail a few times. "You all became really close, right?"

"Yeah. But, Mal and I were just... _really_ close." Evie says, pressing her hands together to demonstrate just how close. "And then she got upset with me over this Persephone-Dionysus thing and stopped talking to me for two weeks and blah blah blah." Evie waved her hand around as if that explained the _Two Weeks of Overdramatic and Ridiculous Emotional Shenanigans_ as Lonnie liked to called it. "And then we made up and we're closer than ever again and things are really really good."

"Mhm..." Ben says, looking at the side of Evie's face as she stared out at the field, at Mal. "A tale as old as time." He mused.

-*-

 _Another horrible thing about Winter_ , Mal thinks. _is finals_.

Tired green eyes glance up from printed words and college ruled paper for the first time in what feels like eternity. They study the girl in front of them closely, from her perfectly curled blue locks to her glossy pink lips to the over sized yellow sweater Mal was sure she had _just_ hung up in her closet. 

 _Another wonderful thing about Winter_ , Mal thinks. _is Evie in warm sweaters._

Mal tosses her notebook aside, ignoring it as it skitters across Evie’s blue sheets and falls off the opposite side of the bed, spilling the crumpled papers haphazardly stuffed into it all over the floor. Evie’s eyebrows raise a little, but her warm brown eyes stay on what she’s scribbling into her notebook.

“Don’t give up, Mal. You have to pa—Hey!” Evie squeaked as her notebook was snatched out of her lap and tossed across the paper peppered bed. She’d only caught a glimpse of Mal’s hungry looking eyes before she was being pushed forcefully onto her back. Mal’s weight pressed down onto her and Evie briefly panics, the hair on the back of her neck raising. Mal didn’t typically initiate physical contact unless it was punching someone in the face.

“Mal?” Evie murmurs through the sea of purple hair that she’s found herself buried in. Mal’s hair was getting so long. She’d let the back grow out a few months ago, but now all of it was growing longer. The wavy tendrils reached past her shoulders now.

It was so sunny in Auradon. The sun had kissed Evie, Mal, Jay and Carlos all as if it had missed them so much while they spent 16 years on the Isle where the sun hardly ever shone brighter than a dying light bulb through the dome that kept them trapped there. Evie’s skin glowed even more now and Jay’s shoulders were the darkest they’d ever been. Carlos’s hair was even brighter and his freckles were darker and Mal’s hair was streaked with bright pinks and light lavenders.

“We’re taking a break.” Mal declared, her cold nose pressing against the warm, steady _thump thumpthump thump thumpthump_ of Evie’s pulse point. Evie let’s out a slightly more dramatic sigh than she meant to. (She’s always one for dramatics, but this dramatic sigh was less fueled by sass and more fueled by Mal’s body weight pressing down on Evie’s chest.) The bruise across her sternum ached under the pressure, but Evie didn’t have the heart to tell Mal that. Nor did she think she’d give up the physical closeness just for physical comfort.

“I was almost done with my Polite Politics homework, Mal.” Evie hummed against Mal’s ear. Technically, that was true. But in Polite Politics, you’re never  _really_ done with the homework.

“Why are you taking that?” Mal asks as she sits up, her weight now pressing Evie’s hips down into the soft (too soft) mattress beneath her. Evie appreciates the change as the aching of her chest subsides to a dull and forgettable soreness. “It’s not required.”

“I was born for politics, Mal. I have great hair, killer fashion and I’m a great liar.” Evie answered with a grin. “Plus, it’s pretty easy for me. It’s all about settling arguments peacefully and convincing people not to murder each other. I’ve been doing that for a year and a half with you and Jay.” Evie jokes as she shifts beneath Mal, kicking her shoes off.

 _Clunk clunk!_ Her boots hit the ground and distract Mal for long enough for Evie to push her to the mattress. Evie shoves her to the left rather than the right to avoid her landing on her damaged ribs. Mal may be pretending they didn't bother her, but Evie knew better.

“Hey!” Mal whines when she hits the mattress next to Evie.

“Deal with it.” Evie quipped. She turned onto her side to face Mal. “How are you?” Evie says things like that sometimes, and they always sound like more than just niceties or words to fill a fading conversation. Mal can tell, especially now, that Evie is genuinely interested. Or maybe concerned. The way her eyebrows are pulling together when Mal’s eye scan her face reads more concerned than anything.

“I’m great.” Mal lies. It’s a small lie, but a lie all the same. In reality, she’s _terrified_. 

“Are you sure?” Evie scoots closer to Mal, one of her cold hands sliding around Mal’s waist to massage lazy circles into the tense muscles lining her spine. Mal just nods and hums, letting her eyes flutter closed at the feeling of Evie’s fingers.

A breathy giggle puffs past Evie’s chapstick covered lips, her breath warming Mal’s cheeks (or maybe that was a blush.)

“Shut up.” Mal grumbles. Evie smiles fondly at her expression and she pressed her fingertips into Mal’s warm skin a little firmer. In seconds, Mal was practically purring like a contented kitty. “You’re a jerk.” Mal growls without much conviction when Evie laughs again.

“Yeah.” Evie grins.

 _"How dare you march into my heart._  
_Oh how rude of you_  
_To ruin my miserable"_

The music crackled in the air as silence fell over the two of them, the only other noise being the occasional muffled whimper from Mal as Evie's fingers worked out the knots in her back.

"GUYS!" The door of their bedroom swings open and slams against the dresser next to it as Jay and Carlos barrel in, holding a box and a pair of ski masks. "We just stole these puppies from the shelter in Auradon City and we need to hide them in your room."

Mal and Evie both sit up and turn to stare incredulously at the breathless boys standing before them. If there was any doubt that they were telling the truth, it was immediately cast away by the sound of tiny barks and whines coming from the box in Carlos' hands.

Evie closes her eyes, takes in a deep breath, puts a hand in front of Mal's face to stop her from speaking and slowly lets the breath back out in a long sigh. 

"You're my best friends and I love you, I really do, but you're terrible." She says. "Terrible!"

 

 

 

-*-

"Oh Lucifer, this stuff is awful." Evie winces as she gulps down another mouthful of burning liquid. 

"It's moonshine, not a Shirley Temple, Princess." Mal snatches the bottle out of her fingers and takes an impressive swig. She hardly flinches as she swallows it down and hands the bottle back to Evie. Evie rolls her eyes and takes it. 

"Are you always so competitive?" She asks, taking a small sip of the alcohol before letting the bottle rest in her lap.

"Yes." Mal deadpans.

"Good to know." A smile pulls Evie's lips across her face, her teeth practically gleaming in the moonlight. 

"You're gonna blind someone with that, E." Mal says, turning away from the grinning girl. She leans back against the foot of her bed, frowning a little as she stared straight forward into the candle lit shadows of her room. She taps her fingers against the dusty stone floor beneath her, trying not to squirm underneath Evie's gaze. 

Evie finally looks away. Her laughter bounces off of the walls of Mal's room and the bottle she brings to her lips. Mal looks over at her just in time to see her tip the bottle back and take a surprisingly large mouthful of the sparkling liquid. Mal's almost worried she's going to throw up when Evie brings the bottle back down and struggles to swallow the alcohol burning her mouth, crinkling her nose.

"Alright, I think that's enough for you." Mal says, taking the bottle from her hands.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Evie says, her voice coming out even raspier than usual. Mal tucks her lip in between her teeth and sets the green bottle down on the opposite side of her crossed legs from Evie.

"I usually am." Mal says, and she almost winces because  _that sounded so stupid._ But Evie laughs anyway and scoots a little closer to her, until the legs are touching and their shoulders brush against each other.

"What are you doing?" Mal asks, her eyebrows shooting up her forehead.

"Sitting closer to you?" Evie tilts her head at her, watching her expression carefully.

"Why?" Mal's eyebrows start to furrow together.

"Because it's cold in your room and I want to?" Evie replies slowly, the worry on her face becoming curiosity in just a few seconds.

The feeling that ripples through Mal's chest nearly knocks the air out of her and she frowns deeply. _No. No. Whatever this is...no._

She scoots away from Evie and crosses her arms.

"No." Mal says out loud.

"What?" Evie asks, hurt briefly dancing across her features.

"No." Mal repeats. "No. We aren't friends like this...We aren't friends!" Mal scrambles to her feet and stands up, nearly knocking the bottle of Moonshine over in the process. That would have been an hour and a half of bartering with Harriet Hook down the drain.

"What? Yes, we are!" Evie says, hurt spreading across her expression.

"No. I'm only _f_ _riends_  with people who can offer me more than the weakness of being attached to them takes from me." Mal crosses her arms over her chest.

"Oh, come on, Mal." Evie rolls her eyes. She wraps a hand around one of Mal's bedposts and pulls herself to her feet. "We're friends and you know it."

Mal's nose twitches and her frown deepens as she stares at the girl taking a step towards her.

"No."

"Yes." Evie smiles.

"No!" Mal growls.

"Ye-e-s." Evie singsongs. 

"Evie, no, get away from me." Mal snarls as Evie takes another step towards her.

"Make me." Evie says, and she knows she's pushing boundaries here. She can practically feel them trying to push her back.

Sure, Mal saved her life and invited her over to get drunk in her room in the same week, but did that really mean they were friends? They'd hardly gone an entire day without at least talking to each other and Mal sometimes held her hand when they walked through the woods next to Evie's house, but did that _really_ mean they were friends? She threatened her life and played pranks on her and laughed at her when she did dumb things just as much as she did everyone else...but...

"Don't think I won't." Mal's eyes turned a toxic green color, glowing in the half darkness of her room. Evie forced down the fear that started rising in her chest at the sight of them. 

"You would have already if we weren't friends." Evie grinned and took another step forward, arms outstretched.

"I will break your arm, don't test me." Mal threatened, stomping her foot. 

"No, you won't." Evie laughed. A little voice in the back of her head said  _yes, she totally will, STEP. BACK._ But the alcohol coursing through her veins muffled that voice enough for her to ignore it and take another step forward, effectively invading Mal's personal space.

"No...stop...gross. Stop!" Mal whined, her voice going from forceful to whiny six year old in a matter of seconds. Evie just smiles at her and holds her arms out. Mal mulls over the options in her head, squinting at Evie as if she were a jewel and Mal was an appraiser, deciding how much she was worth.

"No hugging til the second week of friendship." Mal says, placing a hand on Evie's collarbone and pushing her backward with it. "I'm just not that type of girl." Mal jokes, finally returning Evie's smile.

"Ha! So we are friends!" Evie practically starts bouncing as Mal slips past her. She rolls her eyes and sits down on her bed, the old, creaking springs groaning under her weight. Evie stops bouncing and smooths out her skirt. "I mean, cool. We're friends. Whatever. Cool." 

Mal shakes her head and falls back onto her bed, her paint stained blankets and sheets flattening beneath her. 

Being friends with Jay? That made sense. He was strong, and fast, and vigilant. He'd saved her life more times than she could count. And he asked very, very little of her. They'd been friends for so long, Mal hardly ever questioned whether or not it was worth it anymore. 

Being friends with Carlos? Well, they weren't _really_ friends, but he was useful enough to call an acquaintance. He was good enough at stealing, he was smart enough to get them out of tough situations and he was good with tech. Honestly, he was just an add on to Jay now a days. 

But Evie? Mal had no idea why she decided to be friends with a pretty  _princess_ like her. Sure, she could charm nearly anyone into doing anything for her, but how useful was that really? And she may be just as smart as Carlos, but she used that brain of hers on beauty and fashion instead of evil and surviving. And she smiled too much! No one on the Isle smiled as much as she did. She was just too clean and her eyes were too bright and her heart was too big. She just didn't belong on the Isle like the rest of them did.

Yet, here Mal was, laying on her bed with Evie, staring up at her ceiling, feeling the alcohol set into her system. Warmth creeps through her body and she's not sure if that's because of the moonshine or if it's because of Evie's hand slipping into hers.

"You like me." Evie says from next to Mal, turning her head to look at the side of her face. "That's why we're friends. It's because you like me." She teases, and Mal can practically feel her grin radiating off the side of her face.

"You're really pushing it, E." Mal growls, but there isn't much force behind it.

"Yeah, but you like me too much to hurt me." Evie squeezes her hand.

"Do I?" Mal challenges, turning her head to meet Evie's gaze. 

"Mhm." Evie nods, her nose only a few inches from Mal's as she does. "If you didn't, you'd have already broken my hand and kicked me out." 

"Fair point." Mal says, watching Evie's eyelashes flutter as she blinks. "But, tell anyone about it and--"

"And you'll actually break some of my bones and send me back to my castle where I belong, forever. Yeah, yeah, I know." Evie waves her off. They stared at each other for a few moments, Evie wondering how someone so tough and rude could have eyes that looked so soft, and Mal wondering how someone so soft and charming could have eyes that looked so dangerous.

"You're my person, I think." Mal breaks the silence suddenly.

"What?" Mal watches Evie's eyebrows tug together, crinkling the space between them. 

"You're my person." Mal repeats. "Everyone is supposed to have a person or something...to be close to...Even villains...I think you're mine." Mal wants to snap her jaw down around the words spilling out of her mouth, but she can't stop herself. Her thoughts barely have time to fully form in her mind before they pour out of her mouth.

"I thought Jay was your person." Evie says, watching Mal's lips as she speaks.

"He is...but he's not?" Mal mumbles. "He's my...best friend or whatever, but...I think he's Carlos' person..." Mal's eyelashes flutter when Evie shifts a little closer to her.

"And I'm yours?" Evie asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah, you've gotta be. Or else I would have probably robbed or killed you by now." She says, and it's probably the nicest thing she's every said to Evie. Evie laughs, her warm breath blowing across Mal's face, making her eyelashes flutter again.

"I think you're mine, too." Evie murmurs, the inebriation starting to become more apparent in the way she speaks.

 _Fucking lightweight._ Mal thinks, a little too fondly for her taste. But it gave her something to blame this embarrassingly tender conversation on later when Jay inevitably found out.  _She was drunk, I'm pretty sure she hallucinated half of that night._

"Good..." Mal says. "...Whatever."

Mal hardly has time to react before Evie is sliding forward and her arms are wrapped around her shoulders and her face is buried in the crook of Mal's shoulder.

"You realize that this is hugging, right?" Mal grumbles, trying to push Evie away. Evie doesn't budge and Mal end up just pressing her hands against her stomach to no avail.

"Shut up, I'm your person." Evie mumbles into Mal's hair. "I get to hug you."

"Whatever." Mal shakes her head. Evie smiles a little when she slides her hand around her waist, relaxing into the embrace. "How long do hugs normally last for?" 

-*-

 _Well, this is how I die._ Evie thinks, breathing heavily against the hand pressed over her mouth. Thoughts race through her head as she stares wide eyed up at the person who has haunted her nightmares for the past ten years. Harsh green eyes stare back down at her, lacking all of the softness and warmth that Mal's possessed. All Evie saw in them was coldness and evil. Which is what you might expect if you were staring into the eyes of Maleficent herself.

"Don't worry, my dear. I'm not going to kill you." She croons, but Evie is not relieved at all. Killing her wasn't the worst things she could do, Evie knew that for sure. Evie's mouth went dry as Maleficent leaned down closer to her. "No, I'm going to leave you right here in a few moments. But when I do, you are going to disentangle yourself from my foolish daughter, pack up all of your things and leave." She says, and Evie realizes that the weight on her chest isn't just fear, but also Mal's head. "If Mal wakes up, you are going to tell her something...oh...urgent came up and you have to go. Now." Evie's eyes, still terrified and wide, are asking questions now. Maleficent laughs a little and the sound sends jolts up and down Evie's spine. "We're going to have a little...family meeting and I don't want you around for it." Maleficent says. Fear spikes through her body, making her heart thud in her chest. She's not afraid for herself anymore, but rather she's afraid for Mal. "Nod if you understand."

Evie nods slowly, clenching her fists when Maleficent smiles. Her bony hand slips away from Evie's mouth and she across the room before Evie turns her head to look at her. She stands in Mal's doorway for a moment, grinning wickedly. She puts a finger over her lips and then disappears into the dark hallway beyond.

Evie feels dizzy. The room spins around her and she feels a little bit like she might pass out. Nausea hits her as she forces herself to sit up, carefully shifting Mal's head off of her shoulder and onto one of her moth eaten pillows. Her mind is still racing and she finds herself staring at Mal's sleeping face for a long time before she makes any movement to grab her things and leave before Maleficent decides it'd just be easier to kill her than wait for her to leave.

Her palms feel cold and sweaty as she stumbles out of Mal's bed and starts gathering her things off of her dusty floor. 

 _You're my person._ Mal's words echo in her head, bouncing off of the fear and the adrenaline and the blurry nightmares involving dragons and green eyes and screaming. 

She stopped stuffing things into her bag and looked up at Mal, still asleep in her bed, her purple hair spread across her pillows, her knees tucked up close to her stomach. She looked so small and so peaceful and...

_This is the dumbest thing I've ever done...and I dated Clay Clayton once._

"Mal. Mal." Evie whispered, shaking Mal's shoulder. "Wake up. Mal."

"...nguh?" Mal's eyes fluttered open and she squinted at Evie. The morning light pouring in from her bedroom window surround Evie's head, making her look more like a deity than an obviously scared teenage girl with bed head. "Evie?" Mal groaned, her voice hoarse and raspy.

"Get up. We need to go."

 


	6. Like a hand waving from a train I wanted to be on.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wooo! And we're back. I'm sorry scheduling for the fic has been so erratic. Not gonna lie, the reason it took so long this time was because I've been lowkey cheating on you guys while I help a friend write a multi-chap fic for another fandom and that and a few projects have monopolized my free time. But I should be able to dedicate more time to this fic in the upcoming months.  
> This chapter was written a while ago, I just went in and fleshed it out a little. It's not super well edited because I just wanted to get this out asap for you guys, so sorry for any typos!  
> Anyway, hope you guys enjoy! The adventure has just begun!  
> (Also please comment if you have any comments, complaints, concerns! I love getting comments from you guys!"

Evie ran her fingertips along the rough spines of old books, sitting on shelves, whispering their stories. Her eyes, tired and weighed down by the darkness under them, searched desperately for the words she had been mumbling to herself for the past few hours. Bright golden titles glimmered in the half shadows cast by the libraries storm lights overhead, dull and low without the natural sunlight they usually accompanied. 

"Mirror mirror in my hand, please show me where another--and for the love of Hades--more _comprehensive_ book about Persephone and/or Dionysus is." Her voice spilled out her mouth, sounding rougher and more tired, but still recognizable to the ears who heard it.

The mirrors surface warped, rippled and swirled until an image slowly appeared. A shelf, of course, but not one Evie recognized, came into focus from the dusky purple haze. She'd searched every inch of this library over the months and months they'd spent in Auradon, yet she'd never seen this shelf, or it's contents. 

Evie let out a miserable groan. She pushed her hair out of her face and closed her eyes, leaning the back of her head against the cold metal shelf.

_Think, Evie. Where else could there be books about Persephone and Dionysus that don't just mention them as footnotes. Where...where...where._

"Evie, dear." A smooth voice filled Evie's ears and for a moment she thought she was imagining it. She'd had hardly heard more than her own whispers for the past few hours, hearing someone else's voice almost felt like a hallucination _._

"I have a wider selection of literature in my personal library...." Belle says, her eyes scanning over the books on the shelf next to the ones Evie had been inspecting. "If you'd like to see it, you're welcome." She plucks a book off the shelf, the words  _Voices by Paige O'Hara_ catching Evie's eye. She flipped through a few pages nonchalantly and then returned the book back to its place on the shelf.

"I..." Evie began. She was staring, she knew it, staring at the side of Belle's face like an absolutely enraptured little girl meeting the Queen for the first time. 

_Get a hold of yourself, Evie. This IS NOT the first time you've met her. Pull it together!_

Evie clears her throat and says, "Okay!" _Too eager. Chill out._ "I mean, that would be wonderful...if it's not too much of an imposition." 

"Not at all, dear." Belle smiled and Evie instantly noted the difference between this smile and the one she often saw the Regent Queen wear while at Balls or other political functions. The smile the Queen was dazzling Evie with now seemed wider and warmer and perhaps relatively less guarded. Evie returned it with a wide grin of her own and nodded profusely, blue curls bouncing around her shoulders.

"Well, come along then." Belle said as she gave Evie another fond look and then turned around, leisurely walking toward the Library doors. Evie practically ran to her side, regaining her composure a moment or two later. She schooled her features into a calm expression, but the grin tugging at her lips gave her away every time Belle glanced at her.

"I hope you and your friends are still enjoying living in Auradon." Belle said conversationally as they reached the front door of the school.

"Of course!" Evie exclaimed, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. She cleared her throat again and took in a slow breath, trying to calm herself. _Composed. Regal. Just like mama taught you._  "What I mean is, we love it here. It's become home."

"I'm glad to hear that. I must admit that...I do keep tabs on the four of you. And the newer Isle kids, but you four especially." Belle grabbed the brass handle of the front door before Evie could and, much to Evie's surprise, held it open for her. Evie ducked her head as she walked across the threshold, muttering a small thanks and trying not to giggle like a little girl.

"You have?" She asked when they were both standing in the courtyard, waiting for Belle's limo to arrive. Evie stared at her feet as they strolled along, watching the night dew in the grass soak the toes of her leather shoes. 

"Of course. You're my son's first Kingly...project," Belle said carefully. "But your also the first steps toward fixing a terrible mistake." 

Evie's lips twitched a little. She glanced up at Belle to find the queen already staring at her, raising her eyebrows when their gazes met. The Queens eyes were big enough to get lost in, holding all the warmth and affection that Evie longed to see in the eyes of a different _Queen_. But, in those sparkling pools of honey brown, Evie still caught glimpses of secrets and deception, not unlike her mother's.

"You're more than that, too, dear." Belle said after a few comfortable moments of silence. "Don't think I don't know that."

 _She's better at reading people than Mal or I am..._ Evie thought as she nodded.  _I wonder if that's from being a Queen or from being married to someone like King Adam. Either way...impressive._ Evie appraises, her curiosity perhaps bordering into suspicion. That was just her nature. A byproduct of her mother's schooling on the social and psychological aspects of manipulating people for your own gain. 

"Of course..." Evie began, thinking out her words as they came to the main driveway. She glanced up at the statue of Adam, stoic as ever, and staring out upon his kingdom with bronze eyes seeming to see all, know all, judge all. She resisted the urge to clap and reveal his beastly past self. "We're all more than our past, I suppose." She says pointedly.

"Mhm. So let's talk about your future." Belle links her hands together behind her back. Evie's eyes snap back to the Queen's face, trying to read any expression that might be under that ever pleasant mask of hers.

"What do you mean?" Evie asked, even though she was sure she already knew what Belle was referring to.

"Ben mentioned the siren incident, and the events before and after it." Belle explained. "He was excited that you were going to be filling your Quest Quota so soon, but he did express worry about the details of the adventure." Belle watched Evie's face carefully, as if deciding how much or how little information to give Evie while testing how much she already knew. Another skill of a Queen, Evie supposed.

 _Of course Ben told her everything. Mama's boy._ Evie thought with a shake of her head but a small smile still tugging her at her lips.

"Oh." Evie breathed. "Quest Quota?" She asked suddenly, her eyebrows scrunching at the foreign term, trying it out in her mouth, feeling the weight of it on her tongue.

"Yes. Didn't Ben explain it to you?" Belle tilted her head, glancing down the driveway as headlights flashed in the distance.

"No, he didn't." Evie mumbled. "We haven't really seen much of each other in the past few weeks. Our schedules haven't been very congruent recently." 

The statement was true enough. She and Ben  _had_ been struggling to find time for each other since it was both the month of Finals and the beginning of Auradon's yearly kingdom wide Issue Court;

Issue Court, as Evie had only learned mere months ago was:a large, TV broadcasted discussion of _issues_ in the nation starring:

  * the highest royals from every kingdom state; Neverland, Arrendale, Camelot, even Faraway and ect.
  * Ben and his chosen Royal Advisers. (Evie had a feeling those Advisers would end up being her and Mal.)
  * And various advocates and leaders of social groups and movements.



Viewers would vote on what issues they wanted their state's royals to discuss and then they'd call in questions and comments during the broadcast that each head of state would reply to. Ben had been stressing out about it for months. The broadcast could make or break new heads of state and he could only imagine what would happen if he, the new King of Auradon, was proven incompetent during it. 

Long story short, any time they did find with each other was usually filled with versing themselves in current news, hot button topics and issues in Auradon. And ever since the Siren attack and this whole Gods mess, they'd seen even less of each other. Evie wasn't sure if Ben was avoiding her or if she was avoiding him at this point.

"I see. Well, here at Auradon Prep, we have certain non-academic quotas for each student to reach before graduating. Many have fallen out of fashion, and most are optional, but there are three that are required to graduate and a fourth that is required if you plan on attending Auradon University, which most students do." Belle explained as the black limo behind the bright headlights came into full view.

"Oh, yeah, I think Doug told us about those once." Evie nodded along.

"They are in the handbook, but students don't usually start worrying about them until their senior year, and you four are still juniors." Belle said, waving at the driver approaching them in a slightly larger version of limo than the one they'd been brought to Auradon for the first time in. "I'll explain them to you during the ride to my home." Belle said as the driver jumped out of the vehicle and scurried around it to tug open a door for them.

-*-

"The first two are fairly easy to complete." Belle gestured.

" _Travel to a part of the Kingdom you have never been to before_. and _Save a life_?" Evie read, squinting at the handbook in her lap. "These sound more like bucket list items than quotas." A soft laugh spilled passed her lips before she could quiet herself.

"Yes. The Traveler Quota and the Savior Quota. You four, in all technicality, have already completed them." Belle smiled brightly in the half darkness of the limo.

"And this Quest Quota, it's the third..." Evie says, trying to read the words on the pages in the dimness.

"Mhm." Belle confirmed as she glanced out the window as the distant lights of Auradon City twinkled outside the vehicle.

 

_3\. Quest Quota._

_Originating only a few years after the opening of Auradon Prep, this graduation Quota is considered both the most difficult and the most important. Heroes, Kings and Queens, princes and princesses, sidekicks and familiars past have all performed tasks and completed journeys similar to this Quota, which is why it was adopted into Auradon Prep's curriculum. The goals within this quota include:_

_-Answering a call, whether this be a call to arms, a call for help or a call of curiosity._

_-Leaving ones home or comfort zone._

_-Choosing allies and recognizing villains. (optional)_

_-Defeating a villain or protecting the innocent or satiating ones curiosity._

_-Changing ones perspective and/or becoming more aware of oneself._

_-Returning home. (optional)_

_In the case of death, succumbing to darkness or being captured by a villain, a god or any other type of creature, the family of the student will receive a payment and the school's sincerest condolences._

 

Evie's brow scrunched at the last sentence for a few moments. She was quickly retrieved from her thoughts when Belle cleared her throat. She glanced up to find the queen looking at her expectantly. 

_Did she say something? Shit, I totally wasn't paying attention. Fuck._

Belle gave her an understanding look and then said, "Ben has told me you've already made plans to go on your quest. Do you intend to bring your friends? Carlos, Jay and Mal, that is."

"Uhm...Yes." Evie closed the book in her lap. "Well, I haven't asked the boys, but Mal has already made it clear she's coming."

Belle nodded and chuckled along with Evie's small laugh. She glanced out the window for a moment, contemplating something and then looked back to Evie, "Ben had mentioned you two were in a...small fight,"

_Godmother, he really does tell her everything._

"Yeah." Evie broke their eye contact briefly, finding the way Belle was peering into her eyes a little too invasive. She suddenly understood why some people flinched away from her own gaze.

"And I suppose that fight is over now?" Belle uncrossed and recrossed her ankles. "He mentioned that you two planned on attending the Winter Formal together."

 _What...what is she asking me right now?_ Evie's head snapped up from admiring the queens heels to peering at her with just a hint of suspicion creeping back into her eyes.

"Uhm. Yeah. We've gone to most of the dances together since Mal and Ben...uhm..." Evie's voice died in her throat. Ben had been cooler than cool about his and Mal's break up. He'd been a little sad about it, perhaps, for the first few days, but when Mal made it clear they'd continue being friends, any damper on his mood lifted and their golden boy was golden-er than ever. But Evie had no idea how the Regent Queen and King might feel about it.

"Evie, honey, I don't hold Ben and Mal's split against her. From what I heard, it seemed fairly mutual." Evie nodded along. The situation was perhaps more complicated than that, but _mutual_ was a word for it. "I'm just glad to hear you two are on good terms again. It's very important to have someone you love and trust with you during adventure like these. I don't know where Adam and I would have been without each other during our own adventures and trials."

Evie smiled. "Yeah. We've had each others backs in everything for a long time. Jay, Carlos and Mal are my best friends. Their my family."

"I've learned over the years that friends like that are indispensable. And that adventure like these either tear you apart or push you closer together."

"I don't think it's possible for us to be any closer." Evie said and Belle smiled.

 _Liar, liar, pretty blue skirt on fire._ A voice in the back of Evie's head whispered.

"But I know for sure nothing can tear us apart."

_Are you really sure? What if they knew...?_

"I have all the confidence in the world in your four's bond. I definitely recommend you go on this adventure, but Evie...do be careful. I have to admit that we have grown quite fond of you." 

The grin that tugged the corners of Evie's mouth across her face reflected the very little light that made it's way into the limo and Belle would admit that she found it rather endearing.

-*-

"Where've you been?" Mal's groggy voice asked from the darkness of their bedroom.

"With Belle...at her castle." Evie whispered back, excitement spiking in the tones of her voice. She wasn't sure why she was whispering, Mal was already awake and if any curfew checkers heard her, she had a hand written note from Belle herself to excuse the late hour of her return. She shut the door behind her with her foot, her arms full of a stack of books that reached just a little higher than her chin and threatened to topple over any second.

"Belle? As in Ben's Belle? The Queen?" Mal asked, sliding out of Evie's bed, her socked feet hitting the ground with soft thumps. "Why?"

"She was helping me. Gave me some advice about...some things. And she gave me all of these books about past adventures here at Auradon Prep...and books about the gods..." Evie was careful about her words as Mal approached her, taking some of the books out of her arms and setting them down on Evie's sewing table.

"How nice and oddly well timed of her." Mal said as she took the last few books from Evie's hands and added them to the pile on the table.

"Guess what I found out." Evie's excitement practically had her vibrating as she found Mal's empty hands in the dim light with her own. Light was filtering in through the curtains of their room from the tall lamp light in the middle of the courtyard, several meters outside.

"Belle and Beast have a collection of racy, filthy erotica novels in their home and Ben still sleeps with stuffed animals?" Mal suggested, holding onto Evie's fingers, warming them between her hands.

"No." Evie knew Mal couldn't see it, but she rolled her eyes anyway. "Do you remember that weird statue in my house back on the Isle? The one down a few halls from my room?"

"The one I caught you and Anthony Tremaine making out under that one time?" Mal teased, but Evie didn't miss the vaguely irritated sound to her voice when she said Anthony's name.

"Yeah." Evie confirmed, the memory of the cravat wearing boy and his stifling cologne rising in her memory. "I made out with you under it too, he wasn't special." Evie smiled, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"Neither was I then, hm?" Mal pointed out, but the ways she squeezed Evie's hands reassured her that she wasn't actually upset with her.

"Don't tell Jay. He probably thinks he was." Evie laughed and soon Mal's fluttering laugh joined hers.

"You made out with Jay when I wasn't around?" Mal asked once her laughter subsided. "Scandalous." 

Evie smiled a little wider, "Just once. We were drunk." She ran her thumb over the scar on the side of Mal's. "Wait! No, I was telling you about this for a reason!" 

"And that reason is...? Do you wanna make out again?" Mal joked, but her voice had a ring of seriousness to it. She was laughing when she stepped closer to Evie and her breath warmed Evie's cheeks (or maybe that was a blush).

Evie stared at Mal's pink lips in the half darkness of their room for a few short seconds, and Mal thought maybe she was considering it. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips in anticipation, just in case. Evie's eyes followed the movement and--

"No, no, stop being distracting." Evie shook her head, trying to focus.

Mal had been _weird,_ as Jay put it, the past few days, being more affectionate than usual, not just with Evie but with all three of them and Ben, _and_ even Jane, Lonnie and _Audrey_. Evie and Carlos had chalked it up to her usual anxieties about any kind of change, (and this quest was a _big_ one) but Evie wondered. "The statue, I found it in one of the books Belle gave me. It's a statue of Persephone and Hades."

"Really?" Mal asked, not bothering to take a step back out of Evie's personal space. "Hades is kind of hot."

Evie rolled her eyes again, "Yeah, anyway. It said the statue was gifted to a man Persephone had blessed...do you think that man was the king my mom married?" Panic started rising in Evie's chest as she thought about it.

Mal could feel the sudden shift in Evie's mood. Instead of vibrating with excitement, she was shaking with anxiety, chewing on her bottom lip in that way she did when she was playing worst case scenarios out in her head. Mal could practically see the gears working in her brain and the fear building in her chest.

Evie's breathing came in short bursts as she began speaking again, lower and more hesitant, "D-Do you think Persephone is mad that my mom l-let King Kane die? Do you think she's planning on taking that out on me? Do you t-think that's the point of this whole adventure? Is it just some big, elaborate trap and--mmn!" Soft lips stole the rest of Evie's words right off of hers. It was a brief kiss, short and sweet and chaste enough to barely be considered anything more than a friendly peck, but it was enough to clear Evie's mind almost entirely, her tense shoulders stuttering and relaxing slowly beneath Mal's palms.

"Mal!" Evie whispered loudly once her senses returned to her and her hands came up to cover her mouth in half shock half giggly embarrassment. Evie's cheeks burned pink and she wondered briefly if Mal could see it in the shadowy darkness surrounding them.

"Sorry." Mal mumbled breathlessly, slowly opening her eyes. "Are you okay?"  

"Yeah, fine, you?" Evie said a little too quickly to be convincing. "You don't normally get so...you know." Evie gestured vaguely in the short space between them, still whispering since they were so close, sharing breaths and body heat. "Unless you're holding in some meltdown of your own." She reached up and squeezed one of Mal's hands firmly, peering into her eyes with that Intensity™ she seemed to only use on Mal. Mal nodded once and then slipped her fingers into the spaces between Evie's. 

"Maybe I just wanted to kiss you." Mal said, leaning just a bit closer, barely brushing their lips together. Evie let her eyes flutter closed again, savoring the sensation, the smell of Mal's shampoo, the warmth of her hand in hers, the sound of her slow breathing, the _taste_ of her chapstick. It put Evie at ease, melting away the last bit of anxiety bubbling in her chest for a few blissful moments.

"I'm very kissable." Mal could feel Evie's lips moving as she spoke and smiled ever so slightly. "But---"

"I know." Mal said, her breath coming out in frustrated puffs as she leaned back a little, just enough for them to be able to look at each other. Evie opened her eyes and reflected the frown on Mal's face. 

 _She always looks like an upset toddler when she frowns like that._ Evie thought fondly as her expression gave way to a smile that made Mal's eyebrows raise. Evie untangled one of her hands from Mal's and brought it up to her face, pinching one of her cheeks until she was blushing and the pout on her face had softened.

"You're my best friend." Evie said after a few moments of giggly silence. "I'm not leaving you behind. Ever." Evie always had a knack for addressing the things bothering Mal without Mal having to say a thing about them. It was both comforting and mildly terrifying, having someone who sometimes knew her better than she knew herself.

"Okay." Mal nodded, feeling something in her chest ease. She leaned forward slowly, so so slowly, and pressed a soft kiss against Evie's cheek, a little too close to her mouth to be considered decent. But, they were alone and _decency could go fuck itself._

"Mal." Evie mumbled. Mal couldn't help but smirk at how dazed she sounded. "Mal, I'm tired..." She whispered as Mal leaned back and met her gaze again. 

Mal nodded, sympathy and affection softening her eyes. 

* * *

 "No, no!" Evie pressed her hands into the leather stretched across Jay's chest in an attempt to push him back. He'd give it to her, she was stronger than she looked, but he had the advantage of balance...and weight...and training. "Stay here! I can walk home on my own!" She insisted, keeping her hands held up as she stepped away, leaving him in the doorway of the Junk Shop.

"No fucking way." Jay sounded a little more aggressive than he meant to. "Every slime sack and their dog was staring at you like a bag of fresh peaches when you walked here." Jay's stomach grumbled a little just at the thought of a bag of fresh peaches. Oh, the things he'd do for a bag of fresh peaches.

"I'm a little offended you don't think I can protect myself." Evie said, crossing her arms over her chest, her bottom lip sliding out a little.

"Poisoned apples aren't gonna keep you safe when some guy twice your size in a dark alley way, Evie!" Jay stamps his foot. Evie gives him a look and he slowly unruffles. "Sorry." He mumbles.

"I really think I can handle myself." She slips a hand into her bag. The flash of metal catches Jay's undivided attention immediately when she pulls her hand out again. "Dipped in snake poison." She supplies helpfully, turning the ornate dagger in her hand over to show Jay all sides of it. It gleamed in the diffused moonlight filtering in through the dome and clouds above their heads.

"How's snake poison gonna help you when someones attackin' you?" Jay asks incredulously, still staring at the blade with interest.

"Well, that's what the dagger's for." Evie's smile gleams almost as brightly as the dagger in her hand. "The poison is just in case they get away."

Jay's eyebrows raise and his eyes snap away from the blade and he stares at her for a few seconds. "You're more... _dangerous_ than everyone thinks you are, huh?"

"Looks can be deceiving." She flashes him another smile. "Now, I've got to get home before my mom realizes I haven't come back." She turns away, then turns back with a finger up when he tries to follow her. 

"Fine, fine!" Jay puts up his hand. "Be careful, okay?" Evie is struck with the genuine concern that seems to crease Jay's brow. She gives him her best smile as affection ripples through her.

"The careful-est." Evie stepped forward, maybe a little to quickly for both of their reflexes, and wrapped her arms around Jay's bulky shoulders. She feels him stiffen and then slowly relax before returning her hug, sliding his arms around her waist gently, as if he were afraid he would break her if he really hugged her.

-*-

Evie wasn't careful at all. She never really was. It wasn't that being locked away in that castle had meant she never learned how dangerous the Isle was. It wasn't that she was brave, or that she wasn't afraid. It wasn't that she wanted to die, either. _No_ , it was that she'd been locked away for so long that every moment outside of her castle was a thrill. She was so curious about everything she'd been missing out on for the past ten years. It made her  _reckless_.

Walking through the Market District of the Isle this late at night--when half rotted foods and stolen, broken or poorly made knock offs were replaced with the Isle's more elicit wares--Evie's fingers barely brushed the handle of her dagger.  _Reckless is more fun._

She walked past booths boasting of the most mind numbing/altering/clearing/changing/opening substances on the Isle and booths--that sold scarves and jewels during the day and now sell girls and boys who will tie you up with said scarves for payment with those jewels.

Evie's eyes wandered over their exposed bodies as she passed, more out of curiosity than actual enjoyment. She couldn't imagine being one of them, even if here on the Isle, they tended to end up being the wealthier types, or at least the pets of the wealthy. But wealthy here only meant eating the least rotted food, having a roof over your head most nights and maybe having enough things to fill a _small_ room.

"Hey, baby." One of them called out to her, and in sync, all of their gazes turned to her. Red lights from somewhere behind the booth illuminated their faces and bodies, as they laid on a large bed covered in stained pillows, moth eaten sheets and ripped silk scarves. They seemed to coil and move around each other like snakes, smiling in a similar way too, as they gestured for her to come closer. Many voices in her head told her to ignore them and keep walking, but, as usual, her curiosity got the better of her. Her heels scuffed to a stop on the uneven asphalt and she looked at them for a few seconds. She took a few steps closer to the booth.

"Aren't you pretty?" One of them grins. She had a complexion a few shades darker than Freddie's, her nose was a little wider and her eyes were a dark green rather than a light hazel. But, her most notable feature had to be the thin white scar trailing from below her left nostril, over her full lips, to stop just before her chin. The scar seemed to only add to the charm of her shark-like smile.

"So I've been told." Evie murmurs, watching the boys and girls behind the booth with a mix of curiosity and caution. The girl leaned over the edge of the booth, giving her an exaggerated once over with a wide grin and---A raised, faded white scar on the girl's arm caught Evie's bouncing attention. She narrowed her eyes at it in the dim red light. A heart and an A disrupted the smooth flow of her supple looking skin. She glanced at the others, all grinning at her from the booth, on the bed, next to it, coming out from behind the scarves hanging from the ceiling. Her eyes wondered over their bodies with a new curiosity, a more focused curiosity.

 _All of them have those marks... Ten of clubs, two of spades...._ Her eyes landed on the girl grinning in front of her.  _Ace of hearts._

"Cora?" She asked with raised eyebrows. She had to give the girl credit, her smile hardly stuttered and her body language barely changed when Evie said her name. Anyone who wasn't Evie wouldn't have caught it. But, Evie was Evie and she did catch the way that the girl's smile became tense and her eyebrows pressed together slightly. She watched closely as the girl squinted at her, and then the recognition that rippled across her face.

"Yeah, Evie." The girl said, her voice less of the sultry purr than it was before. "What're you doin' out here so late? Ain't safe for a pretty girl like you and you know it."

"Just taking a walk on the wild side..." Evie flashed her a smile. "What about you?" She asked carefully, watching Cora's seductress facade melt away slowly.

"Gotta bring in enough to keep food on the table for all of my siblings." She says, pushing the thin braids the fell down around her shoulders like the scarves hanging around her booth out of her face. "And to keep Queen happy." She mumbles. "You know how it is."

"Of course." Evie swallows the bitter taste in her mouth, tilting her jaw down and looking away from Cora's eyes. "It's nice to see you again." She says when she glances back up. "How's Corbet?"

"He's alright...most days." She meets Evie's gaze, the green of her eyes just a few shades darker than the color that haunted most of Evie's dreams. "Are you out here lookin' for something specific?" She asks and suddenly her act is back on like it hadn't even faltered in the first place. Evie knows when someone evades a painful line of questioning, but her empathy wins out over her curiosity and she doesn't push for more from the girl in front of her, a ghost from her old life.

"A distraction." Evie says without thinking. It's true, but she hadn't meant to say it out loud. 

"Still got insomnia?" Cora asks, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the edge of the booth, giving Evie full view of her cleavage, crosshatched by her fishnet shirt. "Maybe we can help." She purred and the boys and girls behind her all hummed their agreements.

"I don't think she's interested."

* * *

 Fear. It splashed it's way across all of their red light lit faces like paint across a canvas and Mal couldn't help but grin. She fixed her glowing green gaze on Cora's face from over Evie's shoulder, staring at her until she flinched, her red streaked braids whipping around her as she turned her head away. It only took seconds for all of The Queen's Children to disappear behind the silk scarves and the shadows, leaving Evie alone with Maleficent's Daughter herself.

Mal watched as Evie took in a deep breath, her shoulders rising and falling slowly. It's felt like Evie took a full minute to turn around and look at her and Mal had to hold back her impatience. 

" _What_ do you want?" Evie all but groans when she turns around and levels a glare on her. Mal can't help but smile, which seems to frustrate Evie even more, which of course only widens Mal's smile. She can't help but find Evie's frustration and blatant disregard for Mal's status on the Island... _intriguing_ and thrilling and annoying all at the same time.

"To talk." Mal says, watching Evie with indifferent interest. 

"You mean to intimidate me." Evie deadpans, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Maybe." Mal concedes, her eyes peering into Evie's with the same intensity as she had this morning.

"Why don't we just skip _this..."_ Evie gestures to the five feet of space in between them. "And get straight to you telling me exactly what you'll do to me if I ever cross you again."

Mal's smile spreads and she tilts her head in that _Mal way_ and Evie hates herself for thinking about how cute her dimples were. She let's out a huff when all Mal does is stare at her with that smile on her lips and a few locks of her messy bangs falling into her eyes.

" _What?_ " Evie growls, a little louder than she meant to. 

"You really aren't afraid of me, are you?" Mal asks, sounding more intrigued than anything.

"I am. Just not in the way you want me to be." Evie says, and then she looked to the side, looking for an escape route maybe, or maybe just wanting to break eye contact with Mal. For the first time, her eyes flittered up to the roof tops. _I wonder if Mal is anywhere near as fast as Jay up there...I wonder if she'd try to chase me if I went for it..._  "It's late, Mal. If you're done harassing me for the day, I think I'm just gonna head home."

"I'll walk you." Mal said, closing the space between them with a few long strides. Evie tenses immediately as Mal stepped into her space. 

 "You don't have to--" 

"I'll walk you." She says again, more forcefully. Evie stares at her for a few moments before nodding. 

They walk in relative silence for the first few blocks, passing Mal's home above the Bargain Castle, and then Carlos' home, Hell Hall and Evie is spacing off, mulling over her day, Mal's intentions, Jay and the way Mal's hand kept brushing against hers as they walked when-- _Thwump!_

"Ow!" Evie groans, stumbling backward when Mal's arm collided with her chest. "Mal, what the he--" The rest of her words come to an abrupt and groaned end when her back was shoved into a crumbling stone wall a few feet behind her, dust raining down on the both of them, sharp edges pressing into Evie's silk blouse, grinding into her skin painfully. Anger and confusion swelled in Evie's chest, underneath Mal's hand keeping her pinned to the wall. "Mal! What the fuck are y--"

"Shut your mouth." Mal snarled into her face, her hot breath warming Evie's face. She watched as Mal put a finger over her lips and then pointed into the darkness across the street. There, under a barely shining street light, the shadows shifted and moved until a figure moved out of them. A figure they both recognized.

Fear ran down Evie's spine like a cup of ice water.

* * *

 

 _"_ Things are heating up as the final ten minutes of the last game of the season start counting down!" A voice, Lonnie's but drawn out and a little deeper than she normally spoke, crackled out of the speakers placed around the bleachers. Mal could just barely make out the shadows that must have been her head in the sound booth across the field. "Chad Charming's quick feet and Jay Sulatana's brute strength have the Auradon Fighting Knights leading by 4 points, but the Neverland Lost Boys haven't given up hope!"

Mal's eyes bounced from Jay's hair, damp with the cool sprinkling of rain that had been threatening to turn into sleet all day, to the bright yellow 101 darting in between other bodies to the yellow and blue pom poms held high above Evie's head as she and Audrey and a few accompanying background characters cheered in front of the bleachers. There was a sense of... _nostalgia_ in the air tonight. Not only was it the last day of the season, but it was also the second to last day Mal, Jay, Carlos and Evie would be spending in Auradon for the next...however long. 

The feeling was not lost on any of the four of them tonight. Evie, barely feeling the chill of being in her cheerleading uniform in the rain and cool air, chanted and yelled and did as many backflips and flip flops and splits as Mal had ever seen her do, grass staining her knees and rain peppering her grinning face. Audrey tried to keep up with Evie's enthusiasm, smiling every time Evie glanced her way, shaking her pom poms and doing a few backflips with her, despite her easily rolled ankle. Jay and Carlos shared bruising hugs and huge grins when their team scored, pushing them further and further ahead of the other team. And Mal, Mal watched the three of them and wondered if they'd ever find their way back to this. She found herself cheering just as loudly as the students around her, jumping up and down on the bleachers and chanting along with the cheerleaders. Very un-Mal-like but Mal-like all the same. 

 

 

"And Aziz has the ball! He's running across the field and--OH! He narrowly dodges one of the Lost Boys! He's 40 yards from the goal! Jay Sulatana is hot on his heels, knocking anyone who gets close to Aziz off of theirs with his trademark shoulder checks--AZIZ DODGES ANOTHER LOST BOY AND--AND CARLOS DEVILLE TRIPS ANOTHER ONE AND WITH 30 SECONDS ON THE CLOCK--AZIZ IS CLOSING IN--20 YARDS NOW---15--10 AND HE DODGES ANOTHER LOST BOY JUST BARELY---AND WITH FIVE SECONDS ON THE CLOCK AND 4 YARDS TO GO--AZIZ SHOOTS AND HE---"

The last word is lost to Mal as the crowd around her erupts into cheers. She's pushing past the people in front of her before the score is even up on the board and her feet hit wet terf just in time to see Prince Aziz hauled up onto Chad and Jay's shoulders. She catches sight of a pale hand and a shock of blonde hair and grins, waving back at Carlos from across the field. Evie finds her before she's even looking for her again, wrapping her up in a big, rain soaked hug as she babbles about how great that was. Mal smiles into Evie's hair, a few shades darker from the dampness clinging to it. 

"---And oh my god, I love you!" Evie's babbling come to a giggling end and she's hugging Mal so tightly that Mal feels her laughter vibrating through her. 

-*-

 

"This is my bro right here!" Jay shouts, pizza sauce smeared across his chin as he claps a hand on Aziz's shoulder and tugs him into his side. They both sit back down into their overcrowded booth in unison and Aziz just grins and blushes, pushing his still damp hair off of his forehead. Jay, already stuffing more pizza into his mouth, winks at Mal from across the diner the Fighting Knights always went to to celebrate a victory.  _Granny Wolf's_ did a lot more than pizza, and Audrey, ever the health conscious vegetarian-bordering-on-vegan had ordered an apple pie and baked tomato to the booth the cheerleaders (and Mal) had all stuffed themselves into. Evie had eaten a few bites of her goat cheese, roma tomato and what-the-hell-are-you-ordering-Evie??? pizza, but had otherwise spent the last ten minutes chattering on excitedly with Jane, still in half of her Fighting Knight Armor, and Audrey. Mal hadn't really been paying attention to the conversation. She found herself more content sipping at her soda and watching Evie nod emphatically about something Audrey was saying, and Jay and Carlos competing over who could fit as many breadsticks into their mouths and Ben, smiling knowingly at her from his place next to Carlos.

Evie's leg is bouncing under the table, brushing against Mal's, and suddenly, as a clap of thunder shakes the building, Mal feels the nostalgia making her chest ache ease, ever so slightly. 

"You okay?" Evie asks suddenly, ducking close to her to whisper through the roar of chatter and thunder and whatever song is playing on the ancient jukebox across the diner.

Mal takes another sip of her soda and considers the question for a moment, "Yeah." She nods and gives Evie a wide grin. "I'm great."

* * *

 

"How many parties can Chad throw at the Duckling? I mean, honestly, spice it up with a change of venue!" Mal laments, adding lilts of drama to her voice as she laces up her shoes.

"It's the only place nearby he can do it without getting busted." Evie says, shrugging her shoulders as she inspected herself in the mirror.

"Ha. Busted, sure." Mal huffed as she pushed herself up onto her feet. "What're the local Guards Unit gonna do to a bunch of Princes and Princesses? And a King?" Her laughter ghosted over Evie's shoulder as she settled her chin there, peering at Evie through the mirror. "You look good." She murmured.

"Thanks." Evie's smile tugged at the corners of her mouth ever so slightly, her brown eyes warming as they met Mal's in the mirror. "You too."

"Not as good as you." Mal felt a small sense of pride as she watched Evie's smile grow wider. She opened her mouth to say something when--

"You guys ready?" A muffled voice accompanied a short burst of knocks. Mal's sigh blew across Evie's neck and she barely repressed a shiver that tingled across her spine.

"Be right there!" Mal called as she gave Evie another grin through the mirror.

* * *

 

"Hey, Evie!" His breath was so thick with alcohol that Evie almost felt tipsy just smelling it. "Snow White called; she wants her clothes from 10 years ago back." He slurred, tugging on the yellow fabric of Evie's dress. A resounding ' _oooooooh_ ' from Chad's posse of pastel golf short wearing friends filled Evie's ears. She didn't even try to stop the roll of her eyes.

"Hey, Chad! You 80 years from now called, you're dead and you've wasted your entire life over gelling your hair and picking on girls who couldn't care less about you." Audrey's calm voice almost startled Evie as her warm hands came up to grab her shoulders from somewhere behind her. Chad's group of sandal-and-sock wearing followers went silent as Audrey pushed Evie passed them.

"You didn't have to do that." Evie said once she had wiggled loose of Audrey grip and could turn around to look at her. 

Audrey just gave her a Look™ for a few long moments before saying, "I didn't do it for you."

"Bullshit." Evie snagged one of Audrey's hands. She'd learned pretty quickly into actually being friends with Audrey that breaking the touch barrier with her was pretty much all it took to melt that _I'm a bitch and I'm proud_ persona.

"You're leaving." Audrey mumbled so lowly that Evie almost didn't hear it over the thump of music. 

"Yeah. That's why we're at a 'End of the Year and Goodbye to Evie and Pals Bash'." Evie pointed to the handpainted banner hanging above the stage across the bar. Audrey squeezed Evie's fingers. "I'm gonna be back!" Evie laughed, sounding a little bit nervous even to herself. "Hey, if I didn't know better, I'd think that maybe you cared, Audrey. Maybe you're gonna miss me and Mal and Carlos and Jay."

Audrey's nose crinkled and she tried to tug her hand away from Evie's halfheartedly. "Well, good thing you know better!" She huffed. "I might miss you. I won't miss Mal breaking the kitchen appliances in our dorm or Carlos and Jay wrestling in the middle of the hallway all the time."

Evie just grinned at her for a few long moments, as flashing lights and palpable bass washed over them in the middle of the crowded bar. "I'll miss you too."

_Note to self: Ask Audrey what lipstick she uses at a less emotionally charged time because it looks super good under these lights._

__*__

Evie finally finds Mal a short time after leaving Audrey and Jane at the bar. Audrey had been doing that thing where she jokingly flirts with Jane just to fluster her and Evie just couldn't take anymore secondhand embarrassment. Mal is seated at a pair of tables shoved together, covered from end to end in an assortment of what could only be described as  _munchies._

"Are you allergic to peanuts?" A boy with hair as white as the snow falling outside the windows of the bar asked, leaning a little too close to Mal for comfort. Evie's comfort that is, Mal didn't look the slightest bit perturbed. Probably because she was so focused on the light brown shard in her hands. The boy's lips were spread across his face in a Cheshire grin that would have made Ally cringe.

"Uhm..." Mal chewed on her bottom lip and glanced up at Evie with wide eyes, her pupils almost eclipsing the green of her irises. "What am I allergic to?"

"Peanuts, mold and occasionally the full spectrum of human emotion." Evie said as she plucked the peanut brittle out of Mal's fingers, tossing it back into the boy's basket and waving him off. He gave her a look that she mostly ignored and then melted into the crowd. Evie slid into the booth next to Mal, the cracked red vinyl sticking to the back of her thighs almost instantly.

Mal's lips are tugged into a slow smile as she peers up at Evie. "What?" Evie asked after a few moments of Mal just staring at the side of her face.

"I'd probably be dead without you." Mal muses as she turns back to her pile of no doubt stolen food.

"Probably." Evie smiles, pressing a kiss against the side of Mal's head.

A strip of off white paper catches Evie's eye and she snatches it off the table before she even recognizes what it is.

 _"In the cave you fear to enter, lies the treasure you seek."_ is scrawled across the papers rough surface in looping font and a chill zips up Evie's spine.

"Where'd this come from?" Evie asked, her voice sounding a little too loud even to her own ears. 

"Uhm...Oh! That guy...the weird guy with the hair," Mal makes gestures around her head. "He gave Carlos a bottle of wine. I think that was attached to it."

* * *

"Why are you even risking it?" Audrey's voice breaks the silence that had fallen over the carriage, drowning out the steady clopping of hooves and soft commands from the driver sitting above their heads.

"What?" Evie asks, her voice barely above a whisper. Mal's head was leaned against her shoulder, pieces of confetti and a braid no doubt put their by Jane in her hair. She'd fallen asleep almost as soon as they'd stepped foot into the carriage. Evie couldn't blame her, she'd pulled A Mal™ and spent most of the night dancing on tables with Jay to avoid thinking about what was waiting for them in the morning.

"Why are you risking everything you have for this adventure?" Audrey's voices is coming out so controlled, almost clipped short, and Evie's eyes drift over to her face to study it carefully. "It's so dangerous! The gods and the messages and everything. Why risk it?"

"Well, I’m pretty sure there’s a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking. And I plan on finding out what that is." Evie said, hoping to lighten the mood before Audrey could also pull A Mal™ and condemn her for being foolish and reckless and selfish. "And...I don't know...it's just something I feel like I have to do...I want to do it!"

"No one ever gets what they want in Greek mythology." Audrey said quietly, her eyes dropping to her hands in her lap. The white lace of her dress was stained on the shoulder with paint that matched the paint smeared across Carlos' face and Jay's bare chest. The two of them were snoring lightly on the carriage floor between Audrey's feet and Evie's.

"Maybe she can be the first one." Mal said, her voice heavy with sleep and her eyes barely open. She's slid her hand into Evie's, resting in her lap, and give Evie's a slow smile slowed by sleepy laziness.

"Ugh, you guys are gross." Audrey groans halfheartedly. 

Mal's cheeks and nose are perpetually tinged pink in the winter, but Evie thinks that she see's Mal blush a little as she dozes back off.

Tonight had been full of her friends asking her what the hell she was thinking, some more supportive than others. Freddie, Ally and Ruby all offered to come along almost instantly.

Ally insisted she knew where certain " _Rabbit Holes_ " were, and that was the surest and safest way to get to the Underworld without...you know...dying.

Ruby just wanted to go on an adventure, like her mom and her dad did. She wanted to see things she'd never seen before and have something to add to the murals that covered the walls in her house.

Jordan wanted no part of it and she made sure to tell Evie so in no uncertain terms. "Gods and secret notes and looking for ones destiny never ends well for those who come along." Her dad may have helped guide Alladin along, but she would not be following in his footsteps.

And of course, Freddie was "always down for a Rotten Four adventures".

Evie told them all no, and, despite the amount of influence all of them were under, most of them were fine with it. Except for Ally, who made a very, very good point: "Do you even know how to get to the underworld, hmmmm?"

"I just think...it's dangerous." Audrey said as soon as Mal's breathing had evened out. "Maybe I'm not as brave as you and Mal, but I just don't...like the idea of you guys in danger..." Audrey bit her lip. "I just got used to you and I _do not_ want to have to break any new annoying Isle kids in." She adds quickly.

Evie's smile could only be described as  _tender_ as she looked at Audrey, fondness washing over her suddenly. "We'll be okay. If not, you can say I told you so." Evie tapped her foot against Audrey's and they both dissolved into hushed giggles.

* * *

"Deck the halls with bows of holly, Fa la la, la la la, la la la." 

 "What the Hades?" Mal groaned, her voice vibrating against Jay's arm. She lifted her head and glared at the door, daring the cheerful voice behind it to continue.

"Tis the season to be jolly, Fa la la, la la la, la la la!"

"...I'm going to murder him." Mal wiggled out of Evie's grasp. That was the easy part, Mal was well trained in the art of disentangling herself from a Sleeping Evie™. The challenge now was getting out from under Jay, the Human Blanket™.

"Don we now our gay apparel,  Fa la la, la la la, la la la."

"What...what is that noise?" Carlos pushed Mal's hand out of his face as she hauled herself off of the floor, stomping toward the door angrily.

"Troll the ancient Yule tide carol, Fa la la, la la la, la la la" She almost ripped the door off the hinges as she tugged it open, her eyes boring into the bright blue eyes of the boy in front of her. 

"Morning!" Ben grinned, shoving a warm cup of something into her hands as he pushed passed her. "I brought gingerbread cookies, egg nog, the non-alcoholic kind, and," He paused for effect. "Spiced lattes!" He said, setting the picnic basket on his arm down on Evie's sewing table.

* * *

 

"So what's your plan?" Ben asked as he took her bags out of her hands. Their boots tapped against the ground in unison as they walked down the driveway toward a waiting limo.

"Two words. Don't die." Evie said, glancing up at the statue of Ben's dad from over his head.

"That's a good plan!" Ben grinned down at her. "I like that plan!" He was wearing his crown and she wouldn't even have known he'd been reenacting scenes from Magic Mike last night with how perfectly quaffed his hair was and how wrinkle free his sweater seemed.

"Me too!" Evie returned his smile, bumping her shoulder against his. His laughter made her smile widen and she couldn't help it when the flutter of her own joined along.

They seem to reach the limo a little too soon. Mal was leaned against it, looking thoroughly indifferent with her arms crossed over her chest. Jay and Carlos are arguing with Freddie about something on the other side and Audrey...Audrey was standing a few feet away, her hands clasped in front of her and her eyebrows knitting together. She looks just as well put together as Ben. Her dark hair was perfectly curled as usual, with a peppering of snow and her tight pastel pink sweater and fashionably distressed blue jeans looked freshly washed and ironed, which they probably were.

Ben tugged the trunk of the limo open with one hand and places Evie's bags in the spaces left between Jay, Carlos and Mal's things. He stares at the bags for a few seconds too long before closing the trunk and turning towards Evie. Evie all but runs into his arms when he holds them open for a hug.

"I would come with you guys if I could." He murmured into the top of her head.

"I know. I know." Evie reassured, revelling in the warmth of his embrace. She had a theory that he ran hotter than everyone else because of his beast blood, but she'd never gotten around to testing it out.

 _And now, maybe you never will._ She thought briefly, but quickly shoves the thoughts away when she pulls back and see the tears brimming in Ben's eyes, making them twinkle even more than usual.

"What is this  _thing_ that I'm feeling?" Freddie shrieked from the other side of the limo. "Like...Sadness for someone else...AM I GOING CRAZY?"

"Nope, that empathy. Enjoy it or suffer in silence." Jay laughed, watching Ben wrap an arm around Mal who frowned but pressed herself a little closer to him.

"I'm coming with you." Audrey said suddenly as Evie approached her.

"What?" Evie's eyebrows shot up her forehead. 

"I'm coming with you." Audrey repeated. "I haven't completed my Adventure Quota either and I already asked my parents...well I asked my mom's assistant and she asked my mom and then my mom texted me after she got out of court with that corporation that tested it's products on animals and--The point is she said yes so I'm good to go!" 

"Audrey...You can't just--"

"But why can't I? You can risk your life doing whatever the hell you want, why can't I come with you?" Audrey asked. "Evie, I...I've been the same girl my entire life! I've been the perfect daughter and the perfect student and the perfect Auradonian...I want to see who I am when I'm not a princess in Auradon...Okay?"

Evie was caught off guard by the desperation in Audrey's voice, in her face, in the way she was looking at Evie. She was normally so calm and composed, Evie just couldn't help but say, "Okay."

* * *

 

"I don't know what I'm feeling but there's a lot of it." Mal said as she watched Auradon Prep's lights disappear in the distance, a blur of yellow and blue and snow.

Her thoughts wondered to Jane (of all people.), probably having just woken up, finding the present Mal had bribed Lonnie into putting under her tree for her. She could just imagine those blue eyes widening when she saw the name on the tag after 'From:'

And then Lonnie finding the plate of cookies with her name written on them in the fridge. And all the gifts in the commons area with an assortment of names on them. And of course, Ben, still standing in the driveway in his dumb sweater, probably thinking about them, a dumb sad smile on his dumb sad face. Her frown twitched a little and she turned back around in her seat.

"Having feelings is ruining my reputation as a heartless bitch." She grumbled as Jay and Evie leap toward her in unison, crushing her into a hug at the sight of the tears pricking in her eyes. Carlos just gives her a chocolate covered smile and Audrey rolls her eyes, but the little smile on her lip doesn't escape Mal's attention. But Audrey still rolls her eyes. Because she's Audrey, and there's some expectation that in this moment, she has to, because that's what it's normal for her to do. But after this, maybe she wouldn't, because they'd come back different. Because after this, everything would be different.

They leave Auradon Prep behind before the sun is even really up on a cheerful Christmas and they can all only imagine what it will be like when they return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Though this fic isn't super ship-oriented, Malvie is pretty much the only FOR SURE ship. I've put in hints about other ones into here, just for fun, but I'd love it if you told me what you guys might want to see!
> 
> Also! I'm considering writing another fic, probably a one-shot for Malvie. It'll probs be relatively darker and less...family friendly than this fic has been so far. Here's the concept: Garden of Eden. A strip club/'love house' run by Malefecient 'The Serpent'. Evie is her star girl, known by her stage name as 'the Apple'. Mal is Eve (lol) and Jay is Adam. Or maybe Ben is. Idk if Ben would be on the Isle, but I'm thinking of going full AU and making this a Western, bc I love Westerns, and they live in a township call Isle, nicknamed the Isle of the Damned. Strip club, prostitution den, blah blah blah. It's all about temptation. Western maybe. Gunslinger Mal is my main motivation there. Speaking of which, have ya'll seen Wynonna Earp bc that's where I think I might go with the fic, a little bit. 
> 
> Okay, there's a ramble, tell me if you'd like that or not!! <3


	7. De Vil-May-Care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's a bonus chapter/recap of everything before the adventure begins in the next chapter! 
> 
> This is entirely from Carlos' point of view, seeing that it's pages from his journal, and text messages, ect.  
> This is basically all of my notes from writing these past six chapter thrown into some Carlos-centric stuff I had on the backburner for ya'll. There are a lot of memes and inside jokes in here and I hope some them make you guys laugh! 
> 
> (Because there is an angst train headed for u in the upcoming chapter. choo choo bitches.)
> 
> I hope you enjoy (and have a good Fourth of July for all my Americans)!!

_I think I fucked up...._

Carlos pushes himself as far back into his little closet room as he could, finding a little bit of comfort in the old fur coats surrounding him and the solid wall pressing against his back. He only had a few precious minutes before his mother would find him and screech and scream and wail about what an ungrateful runt he was until he'd cleaned the entire house, top to bottom. His shoulder blade still ached with the nasty purple bruise put there by a frying pan meant to hit him in the head. Luckily, his mother had been drinking heavily that night and her aim was off. Carlos, raking a hand through his unruly shock of white hair, focused on the pages of his journal in the darkness of the closet.

 _Evie. Lucifer. Evie LaReine came back to school today. And she's still so nice and sweet and perfect._  He wrote, his pen _sqritching_ against the page. She _invited me to her house tonight...but I heard about Mal throwing a huge temper tantrum and....I think I got Evie in a lot of trouble. Mal cornered me before I left school, said she had plans for me. She's making me throw a party at my house...a real howler she said....but I know Mal...This is all part of a bigger scheme. She's gonna hurt Evie...I just know it...And I can't let that happen!_

_-CDV_

* * *

 

_I guess Jay and Evie are friends now. I saw them when I walked down to the market to pick up some food. They were jumping around on the rooftops. They looked like they were having a lot of fun. I don't know why, but I really liked seeing both of them smiling._

_I was so distracted watching them that I almost didn't notice someone else watching them too, from her perch at the top of the Bargain Castle. I ducked underneath something before she could see me, luckily._

_Jay, though he's the closest thing to a best friend as Mal has got, might be the next to get banished to the middle of nowhere...and for some reason...that thought makes my chest hurt....I think there's something wrong with me._

_-CDV_

* * *

 

_I think Mal and Evie are hiding from something across the street from my house...I was about to go out and see what was up, but mom dragged me back in and locked me in the closet...so. I hope they'll be ok...I mean, no one in their right mind would fuck with Mal, so, I guess I hope Evie will be ok._

_-CDV_

* * *

  _I don't even know what to say about today and I doubt you'd believe me anyway but: Mal saved someones life and now the four of us, Mal, the wicked fairy, Jay, the wily thief, Evie, the beautiful princess, and I, the smart little boy, are...friends?_

_-CDV_

* * *

  _Evie and Mal just showed up at my house, at 6am. Mal seemed as confused as I was, rocking some impressive bed head and Evie had this kind of...wild look in her eyes. They forced there way in and now Mal is whining about being tired and Evie keeps glancing out the windows like something is about to burst through them. If I die after writing this, killed by whatever Mal and Evie managed to piss off at 6am in the morning, tell Jay that I hid his hat in a can behind Harriet's Hut._

_-CDV_

* * *

_We're being sent to Auradon! Auradon! Like, off the Isle, Auradon! We're all hiding out in my tree house right now. Mal's about to pace through the floor and Jay has been practicing his knife skill on the wall for the past 20 minutes. Evie hasn't shown up yet. I think that's why the two of them are so antsy. We've hardly been separated in the weeks since recovering the Dragon's Eye...or attempting to recover it at least and...being apart from them does feel weird sometimes. I'm nervous about Evie too...we all promised to meet here after we packed our bags...but she's got a lot of things to pack and...maybe her mom is just giving her the crash course on Auradonian living._

_I think Mal and Jay are worried because they think Evil Queen...Grimhilde is as bad as their parents. She isn't. I've been to Evie's house, I've met her mom. We all have. She's just as crazy as the rest of our parents, but she isn't neglectful like Maleficent, and she wouldn't ever make Evie sleep on the street like Jafar and she wouldn't ever lay a finger on Evie like Cruella would. She holds Evie to impossible standards and doesn't really care that Evie's absolutely brilliant, but I think she actually loves Evie. Or at least feels something like that for her. I don't know. Maybe she's different when she isn't high on whatever new drug she concocted in her dungeon lab (oh yeah, she's got a dungeon lab) or drunk on the wine the Dock Master brings her. But every time we go there for sleep overs or food, she's almost nice. She calls Mal 'Little Dragon', which makes her blush, and kisses Jay's cheeks and talks about what a fine young man he is, winking at Evie every time. And she keeps making me conditioners so my hair doesn't get as frizzy as my moms. She also threatens to skin me and turn me into a coat for my mom sometimes when I track mud into her living room but...my mom probably would have forgone the threat and just gotten straight to the skinning...and she says things like "I used to keep a sword made of the finest steal in my cloak. But times have changed." which almost feels like a threat sometimes too._

_And there was that one time when she threatened to burn the castle down with us in it if we didn't let her win at Malice-opoly._

_Someone's beneath the treehouse... Mal stopped pacing and Jay stopped stabbing and--it's Evie. She just tapped out the secret code._

_...I've never seen Mal look so relieved. I guess that happens when you defy your mother to save someones life---you want them to stay alive._

_Mal and Evie have been oddly close since a sleep over they had a few weeks ago...I wonder what happened. I wonder if they slept together. That wouldn't be all that surprising, honestly...But probably not. Evie would have told me. They showed up at my house afterward. Hiding from Maleficent of all people._

_Evie's here now, babbling about her mom making sure she had all the moisturizer she needed. Mal's got her chin resting on Evie's shoulder, watching her hands as she gestures and then grabs a hold of one of Jay's with them. I want to take a picture of this moment. I want to have a picture of Evie leaning her head against Mal's on her shoulder, smiling a huge smile at Jay who pressed their conjoined hands against his chest as they talked about something and laughed. And...I think maybe people take photos...because they're afraid a moment like that will never happen again..._

_Anyway. I don't think it'll be safe to keep a journal about what we're up to while we're in Auradon so...this'll be my last entry for a little while._

_-CDV_

* * *

 

_Ben was really upset tonight. Tonight was the Fall Ball and it was all going well...It was a lot of fun actually. Someone spiked the punch and everything. But Ben was upset. He's been upset all night, since we left the Ball. He's asleep on my floor right now. I think it has something to do with Mal and Evie. Actually, no, I know it has to do with Mal and Evie._

_...The one thing that sucks about having friends is having to keep their secrets. And it sucks even more when those secrets affect other friends._

_..._

_Mal is going to break up with Ben. She's been talking about it, with us, for a while. Us being Jay and I. For some reason she doesn't want to tell Evie. But she's going to break up with Ben. And I totally understand why. She just doesn't feel as strongly for him as he does for her, and that's fine! I just don't like how she's already kind of...starting something with Evie. I mean, they already have SOMETHING but...It hasn't been as much of a thing since Mal had decided to try actually being with Ben._

_I guess Audrey caught Mal and Evie having one of their moments, and she told Ben, and I don't think Ben drinks very much, but he's drunk right now and not happy. He's even frowning in his sleep._

_Poor baby._

_-*-_

_Evie just sent me a screenshot of texts. It's safe to say things have maybe not gone to plan as far as Mal letting Ben down easy..._

_**Princess Jerkface (1:00am):** I saw u and Mal._

_**Princess Jerkface (1:02am):** I’m not the only one. Uh oh.  ;(_

 

_**King Cutiepie (1:25am):** We need to talk…about you and Mal…_

_**King Cutiepie (1:27am):** She’s still my girlfriend._

_**King Cutiepie (1:29am):** I thought we were friends, Evie._

_**King Cutiepie (1:31am):** Does that even mean anything to you? _

_**King Cutiepie (1:34am):** I am VERY mad at you. _

_**King Cutiepie (1:37am):** We aren’t friends anymore._

_**King Cutiepie (8:00am):** I’m sorry about what I said last night. We are still friends if you want to be. Please call me as soon as possible, Evie._

_-CDV_

* * *

  _Honestly,_ Carlos writes, a blanket pulled over his head and a small flashlight in between his teeth lighting the pages of his worn journal.  _My friends are fucking ridiculous._

_This morning, Evie called me. Well, she called Jay but he's still having a little trouble getting used smart phones. Anyway, she called us at 7am to ask us to bring her and Mal some breakfast so they didn't have to get out of bed. I almost said no, just out of spite, because if Jay and I had to get up, so did they! But, Mal said some things...that were rather convincing, so, there I was, waiting in line with a tray stacked almost to my chin with food._

_When we got to their room, Mal and Evie were cuddled together, of course, talking to each other about how to get blood out of silk._

_(Speaking of which, Mal has been getting these weird nose bleeds recently. And she won't go to the nurse for them. A few nose bleeds in the winter isn't that weird, but at least two a day...It just worries me. And Mal's so fucking stubborn that she won't even let Jane or Lonnie look at it for her. Audrey somehow managed to take Mal's temperature, but that proved useless since...ya know...Mal's part dragon. 102.4 may have been alarming to Audrey, but Mal just brushed it off with a "Hm. That's lower than normal".)_

_Anyway, when the girls disentangled themselves from each other, we managed to ration out all of the food evenly without much of a fight. Which was impressive._

_Jay noticed it before I did, but Mal's bed looked really unused when we sat down on it. It was covered in a little bit of dust and Mal's purple comforter had been switched over to Evie's bed. Mal just brushed it off with an excuse about it being so cold but...I don't know. I love Mal and Evie, of course I do, but...this on-again-off-again bullshit is confusing as hell. Like, it had been a game of will-they-won't-they on the Isle for a really long time, and then they had that sleepover and things just...changed. Now it's more of a game of when-are-they-and-when-aren't-they-no-I-really-need-to-know-so-I-can-stop-walking-in-on-them-making-out-please-help._

_I think they might be on and on-again phase...again. They were smiling at each other a lot and wrestling over food and just being huge dorks and I love seeing them that happy, but one of them always initiates the off-again phase and the other one ends up drunk in my bathtub crying while watching Scooby Doo on their phone. (It's happened 3 times, it officially a pattern.)_

_Anyway, I need to go wash this yogurt out of my hair, so._

_-CDV_

* * *

  _I'm not really sure what happened last night, but I do know that it hurts now. I printed out some of my text logs and group chats because we're staging an intervention for Lonnie to stop drinking tequila, but I'll put them in here afterwards. I'm too hungover to actually write. These pages are reflecting too much light._

**_Mal-Carlos_ **

**_Mal (10:00pm):_ ** _a_ _re you at the party yet? eves and i are running a little late._

 ** _Carlos (10:01pm):_ ** _y_ _eah. we got here an hour ago. where are u guys???_

_**Mal (10:05pm):** evie is taking forever._

**_Carlos (10:06pm):_ ** _s_ _he'd probs go faster if u guys weren't makin out._

 **_Mal (10:11pm):_ ** _probably._

  _ **Evie-Carlos**_

 **_Carlos (10:11pm):_ ** _are u and mal makin out right now??_

 **_Evie (10:13pm):_ ** _Yep._

 **_Carlos (10:14pm):_ ** _well stop. the party is over hereeee. hurry up. the club is bumpin bumpin._

 **_Evie (10:16pm):_ ** _We're literally on our way. Mal didn't want to be in a limo full of Chad's friends from North Riding Prep so we had to take a carriage with Jane and Audrey instead._

 **_Carlos (10:16pm):_ ** _text me when u here._

_**Evie (10:18pm):** k.  
_

_**Evie (10:25pm):** Here!!  
_

 

**_Group chat: mal do u have wings._ **

**_Carlos (11:10pm):_ ** _whose that weird lady eating pom seed at the bar?_

 **_Carlos (11:11pm):_ ** _ASLO I THINK I JUTS SAW CHAD CHARMIGNS PENIS. SOS. LIFE ALERT THATS NOT WHAT I WANTED._

 **_Mal (11:13pm):_ ** _haven't we all._

_**Mal (11:13pm) changed the group chat name to: nope.**  
_

_**Evie (11:14pm) changed the group chat name to: Liar. And I'm sorry Carlos.** _

_**Mal (11:14pm) changed the group chat name to: fight me. and suck it up carlos.** _

_**Evie (11:15pm) changed the group chat name to: Violence is never the answer.** _

_**Mal (11:16pm) changed the group chat name to: remember when evie punched a guy in the nose because he said socks with sandals were ok** _

_**Evie (11:16pm) changed the group chat name to: In my defense, I was drunk.** _

_**Jay (11:17pm):** do any of u have a knife i can borrow_

**_Mal (12:45am):_ ** _eeeevie. u left me and carlos. whered u go._

 

**_Group chat: ben gets highlights_ **

**_Ben (12:47am):_ ** _hey guys! this crowd is getting a little rowdy. we should probably og._

 **_Ben (12:47am):_ ** _*go_

 **_Jay (12:52am):_ ** _where r u guys._

_**Jay (12:56am):** i hope u guys survived the angry mob of drunk, sore losers.  
_

_**Jay (12:57am):** im eating a melon across the street. come find me.  
_

_**Evie (1:00am):** Mal tried to fight one of the basketball players from North Riding prep. He threw her into a table full of bottles. Please come help us carry her. She's being a big baby about it.  
_

**_Ben_ ** _**(1:54am):** i hope you guys are ok!!!_

_**Mal (1:56am):** evie patched me up. im ok. JAYDEN can go fuck himself.  
_

**_Jay (1:57am):_ ** _u say the sweetest things, baby dragon. (carlos just woke up and insisted that they should make chocolate for dogs.)_

 **_Mal (1:58am):_ ** _read carlos a bedtime story for me. or just hit him with a pillow til he stays down. either/or. also, u left ur cantaloupe here. im eating it._

 **_Jay (1:58am):_ ** _r00d._

 **_Evie (1:59am):_ ** _We're fine. I'm more concerned about Lonnie. She fell off three separate tables three separate times._

 **_Ben (2:01am):_ ** _audrey says shes ok. she also mentioned that she tried to get her nipples pierced by that guy with the hook hand. but shes ok._

 **_Evie (2:03am):_ ** _We've got to convince her to stop drinking tequila._

**_Jane-Evie_ **

_**Evie (2:01am):** YEAH. But that's probably okay. Are you still with Audrey?  
_

**_Jane (2:01am):_ ** _Yes!!_ _Audrey's sleeping over in our room so we can keep an eye on Lonnie. Did u hear she tried to get her nipples pierced by a pirate??_

 **_Evie (2:03am):_ ** _Wink wink wink wink. And yeah. But I don't think he was a pirate, I think he just had a hook hand._

 **_Evie (2:03am):_ ** _I've got to go. Mal's orders. See you tomorrow, little pumpkin. <3_

_**Jane (2:04am):** Goodnight, Princess Evie!!!!  
_

_**Mal-Ben**_

**_Mal (2:04am):_ ** _e says thanks for saving our lives tonight._

 **_Ben (2:05am):_ ** _no problem!! it was fun putting my beast strength to some use!_

 **_Mal (2:07am):_ ** _sorry for bleeding all over u when u carried us._

 **_Ben (2:08am):_ ** _that's ok!! i didn't even like that taco shirt all that much. anyway. get some sleep, mal. <333_

 ** _Mal (2:10am):_**   _goodnight, king sunshine. <3_

 

**_Group chat: In my defense, I was drunk._ **

**_Carlos (11: 01am):_ ** _u guys are the best the best things in my life. followed closely by cannabis and trashy romance novels._

 **_Carlos (11:15am):_ ** _guys?_

 

**_Group chat: ben gets highlights._ **

**_Carlos (11:17am):_ ** _hey. where is everyone??_

 **_Ben (11:18am):_ ** _mal and evie haven't answered my texts this morning. i just assumed they were taking the day off._

 

**_Group chat: Audrey, ur not that straight._ **

**_Carlos (11:20am):_ ** _have u guys hear from mal or evie??_

 **_Jane (11:21am):_ ** _Nope!! Evie hasn't answered any of my texts!!!_

 **_Audrey (11:22am):_ ** _She's not answering me either. Neither is Mal._

 **_Lonnie (11:22am):_ ** _they probably fuckin_

 **_Audrey (11:23am):_ ** _Lonnie, go back to sleep._

_**Audrey (11:24am):** What the hell was that noise?!?!  
_

**_Carlos (11:24am):_ ** _what noise???_

 **_Jane (11:24am):_ ** _It sounded like a scream or a siren going off!!! I think it came from Mal and Evie's room!!! D:_

 

_So, I guess Ben got there before the rest of us did. He was carrying Evie and Mal down to the infirmary by the time I got to their hallway. Evie looked so pale and she was soaked, head to toe, like Ben had fished her out of the lake rather than out of her room. Mal was conscious. She grabbed my hand as they passed, gave me this...look. I got this feeling she wanted me to do something. I'm not sure what._

_I decided to go check out their room, to try an piece together what happened. I must have been in there for an hour, just looking around, picking up evidence, trying to recall every episode of Criminal Minds and Law and Order I've ever seen to figure out what all of it meant. There was this like...black sea kelp mixed in with torn black lace at the foot of Evie's bed. It smelled really bad and...it was just really weird and creepy._

_Everything was either soaked in water or completely dry, which was so weird. Evie's sewing table had been knocked over and there was blood on the ground near it. It was darker than normal blood, a deep maroon with hints of purple in it. I recognized it. That was Mal's blood. It matched the faded stains on Evie's pillow cases, although, those were a little lighter. I'll have to ask Mal why that is sometime._

_Evie's bed was absolutely soaked in water and her headboard was cracked, like someone had hit it with a sledgehammer. When I picked up her pillow, sopping wet and really heavy, I noticed for the first time that the water wasn't normal water. It was salt water. Like, from the ocean. The nearest ocean is the one between Auradon and the Isle and that was at least 10 mile away._

_This whole thing just...didn't make any fucking sense. One of Mal's daggers was embedded in the wall across from Evie's bed. I pulled it out and hid it in my bag. We aren't suppose to have weapons on the school premises without permission from Fairy Godmother, but Mal couldn't quite sleep without having a dagger near by. Isle habits die hard and all that. It was covered in this ink like goo and--ick. I had to wash my hands for 5 minutes just to get it off._

_It was all a huge mystery to me, and I felt kind of useless, until I told Ben about everything I found and...I guess this sort of thing has happened before. Siren are attracted to the dissonance between good and bad and blah blah blah, just like a bunch of other monsters. That's why Auradon Prep has a history of random attacks._

_We talked about it for a while, in the Infirmary. Evie was asleep, but the nurse said she'd probably be okay. Her lungs sounded clear and other than a huge bruise and maybe a fractured rib or two, she wasn't injured. Ben said his mom called for a doctor from the city, their family doctor, to come take a better look at her._

_Mal had to be sedated a few times. It's always weird seeing her go from composed-indifferent-I-couldn't-care-less-Mal to screaming-kicking-I'm-going-to-break-all-of-your-bones-if-you-don't-let-me-see-Evie-Mal. They had to have three guys from the Tourney team hold her down, including Jay._

_Even sedated, she didn't sleep very long. Luckily, just long enough for the nurse to look her over. The nurse diagnosed her with three broken ribs, contusions on her face and a short temper. Nothing life threatening. She was sitting next to Evie the moment the sedatives wore off enough for her to be able to stand._

_It felt like days before Evie woke up, but I think it was only a few hours. Ben sat down on her bed and used that Soothing King Voiceof his to calm her down as she woke up. Mal looked so panicked and relieved all at the same time when Evie's eyes finally fluttered open. The first thing Evie asked for was Mal. I thought she was going to break Ben's arm with how tightly she was gripping it, but the moment she turned to see Mal, she relaxed._

_I left, gave them some privacy, went to find Jay, before I heard them say anything else._

_Mal and Evie only stayed in the infirmary for a few hours. The sun hadn't even gone down yet and they were already back in their room. I think Ben predicted that would happen because Evie's mattress had been replaced, her blankets cleaned and dried and her headboard repaired. Even the dagger mark in the wall had been plastered over and painted. Like magic. I would suspect Fairy Godmother's hand in it all if not for the fact that the heater in their dorm building has been broken for a full month and she still hasn't bippity-boppity-booed it back into working order._

_Apparently, someone left a note in Evie's purse last night. Evie texted me and Ben at the same time. I was already in Jane's room, checking on Lonnie when I got it, so I was there before Ben. He was at Tourney Practice. It wasn't mandatory, so I didn't go. I think I'd be even worse than I am if I tried to play with my head so...out of the game. Also, I'm technically still banned from going to practice because I punched Chad. Like, actually punched him. In the face! In the middle of a game no less._

_(He said something really gross about Evie's cheerleading outfit and...well. Yeah. Punching people hurts!!)_

_Anyway. Mal kind of...freaked out after Ben explained the note to us. Something about Evie feeling out of place and looking for happiness or something. The real plot twist turns out to be that P &D, the senders of the note, aren't creepy admirers like Mal thought, but rather....gods. Like, Greek Gods. More specifically....Persephone and Dionysus._

_Evie kind of short circuited after that._

_I asked her for some of her texts logs since this all happened during finals month and I haven't been...sober recently._

  _ **Audrey-Evie**_

 **_Audrey (6:51pm):_ ** _Ben just told me about the Gods stuff, Evie. I'm just gonna say this now: the Gods WILL fuck you over. Just ask my brother. He still craves grass sometimes._

 **_Evie (6:53pm):_ ** _Can you please not yell at me too...._

_**Audrey (6:55pm):** I'm not going to throw a tantrum like Mal. I'm just saying...Be careful.  
_

**_Evie (6:56pm):_ ** _Have you heard from her at all?_

 **_Audrey (6:58pm):_ ** _She stopped answering my texts after I pointed out how childish she was being. Last I heard, she was feeling sorry for herself in Jay and Carlos' room._

 **_Evie (6:59pm):_ ** _Do you think I'm being selfish for pursuing this?_

 **_Audrey (7:01pm):_ ** _I really don't care. You can do whatever you want._

_**Audrey (7:01pm):** Just...don't die.  
_

  _ **Carlos-Evie**_

 **_Carlos (11:55am):_ ** _youre being dramatic, eves. so is mal. you two are gonna make up and being making out in no time._

 **_Carlos (11:56am):_ ** _just give it time._

**_Carlos (12:10pm):_ ** _what are we doing?_

**_Evie (12:12pm):_ ** _Wasting our lives._

**_Carlos (12:12pm):_ ** _i meant for lunch..._

  ** _Jay-Evie_**

 **_Jay (11:07pm):_ ** _mal is gonna pace a whole into my floor. can u two please make up already??????_

 **_Jay (5:23am):_ ** _im comin to ur room_

 **_Jay (7:12am):_ ** _i left my sweater there for u. stay warm._

 **_Evie (7:14am):_ ** _Thanks. I love you._

  _ **Carlos-Evie**_

 **_Carlos (6:55pm):_ ** _mal quote of the day: magic is dumb and i hate everything._

 **_Evie (6:56pm):_ ** _Is she still mad at me?_

 **_Carlos (6:58pm):_ ** _well, she's been ranting about you for a good 10 or so minutes so...probs._

 **_Evie (6:59pm):_ ** _I don't know what to do if she won't talk to me. :(_

_**Carlos (7:00pm):** dont worry. i just gave her one of the brownies freddie made. ;)  
_

  _ **Doug-Evie**_

 **_Doug (7:00am):_ ** _Can't wait for our study date!!!_

  _ **Chad-Evie**_

 **_Chad (7:08am):_ ** _Hey...try not to lead my guy Doug on, okay? He's a bro._

 **_Evie (7:12am):_ ** _We're just friends._

 **_Chad (7:13am):_ ** _Does he know that?_

 

**_Group chat: #ProtectEvieLaReineAtAllCosts_ **

**_Lonnie (8:00am):_ ** _Well, operation: Get Mal to talk to Evie by having Snow White show up at her study date with Doug failed._

 **_Doug (8:01am):_ ** _Evie got along with Snow really well though!!_

 ** _Lonnie_ _(8:02am):_** Not the point, Doug.

_**Audrey (10:09am):** I just saw Evie go into the Auditorium. _

**_Lonnie (10:11am):_ ** _Initiate operation: Audrey, Code name:Cotton Candy Queen, get Evie to suck it up and talk to Mal._

 **_Audrey (10:13am):_ ** _On it, Dancing Queen._

 **_Carlos (10:14am):_ ** _pro tip: if u get her talking about her feelings for mal, she'll probs realize shes worth more to her than this argument is._

**_Lonnie (10:15am):_ ** _Noted, code name: Good Boy._

_Mal had been staying in our room for a full week before I noticed a weird pattern. She kind of...did a lot of disappearing at odd hours of the day. While Evie was at Belle's Birthday Ball with Ben, Mal was gone. No where to be found. She wasn't answering any of my texts and she wasn't in any of her usual hiding places. It wasn't until later that night that she bothered to return my texts and that was only because I was texting her about Evie's weird brownie voicemail. Which, by the way, someone left Evie brownies and grape juice with a creepy note and for some reason, despite everything going on, she ate them. I guess she thought they were from me..._

_-CDV_

* * *

  _ **Doug-Carlos**_

_**Doug (11:11am):** Snow says Evie and her are having a great time!!! Theyre shopping right now, with a smile and a song._

**_Carlos (11:13am):_ ** _Excellent!_

* * *

  _ **Group chat: In my defense, I was drunk.**_

_**Jay (12:02am):** so, imma assume you two made up._

**_Carlos (12:05am):_ ** _pleaaassse._

**_Mal (12:10am):_ ** _yeah, yeah, yeah. we're good now._

**_Group chat: ProtectEvieLaReineAtAllCosts_ **

**_Lonnie (12:25am):_ ** _MISSION ACCOMPLISHED BITCHES._

_**Doug-Carlos**   
_

_**Carlos (9:10pm):** are you with evie?_

**_Doug (9:12pm):_ ** _yeah!!! we just got out of the movie!! we're going to get some food._

**_Carlos (9:15pm):_ ** _right on._

 

_So, that seemed like the end of it. Mal and Evie made up like it was nothing and things were back to normal. Things stayed pretty normal for a while. Freddie punched Chad in the nose two minutes after meeting him, Mal landed herself in detention with him for accidently blowing up the toaster in Theta commons again. Her magic has been really erratic recently, but just like the nose bleeds, she won't talk about it. I'm kind of worried...I'll try to put more text logs in here to keep this thing up to date through finals week..._

_-CDV_

**_Evie-Mal_ **

**_Mal (9:25am):_ ** _h_ _ow's you're third study date of the week with doug going?_

**_Evie (9:26am):_ ** _It's fine._

**_Mal (9:27am):_ ** _mhm. i bet it is. made out with him yet?_

**_Evie (9:27am):_ ** _Mal, I know I say this a lot, but, I WILL FIGHT YOU! Is that what you want?_

**_Mal (9:28am):_ ** _yes, because then i'd get to see you._

**_Mal (9:28am):_ ** _ew. i can't believe i said that._

* * *

 

_**Evie-Jane** _

_**Evie (9:00am):**_ I think I just saw Chad talk to a baby duck...

_**Jane (9:00am):** whaaaaat?? Nooooo!! Chad cant talk to animals....._

**_Evie (9:02am):_ ** _You're a horrible liar, even through text._

**_Jane (9:03am):_ ** _You cant tell anyone!!! Hes really embarrassed about it and hell stop doing it if people find out!!!!_

**_Evie (9:05am):_ ** _Well, Mal already knows...but other than that, my lips are sealed!_

**_Evie (9:06am):_ ** _Wait...how do you know about it, Jane?_

**_Jane (9:06am):_ ** _Uhm...well...we kinda grew up together so...I know a lot of things about him. Like he HATES pumpkin pie and I was his first human friend._

**_Evie (9:07am):_ ** _Oh! So, that's why he threatened to kick Carlos' ass when he thought he was interested in you. I thought maybe you guys were secretly dating._

**_Evie (9:07am):_ ** _You guys aren't secretly dating, right?_

**_Jane (9:08am):_ ** _No!!!!! Hes like a brother to me!!!!!!!_

**_Jane (9:08am):_ ** _He hit Aziz really hard with a tourney stick once when he was about to ask me out._

**_Evie (9:09am):_ ** _That explains a lot. And aw...how...sweet?_

**_Jane (9:10am):_ ** _Shrug. He said he knew how Aziz was with girls..._

_**Evie (9:12am):** Shit, Jane, I've got to go. The boys just walked in with a box full of stolen puppies...  
_

**_Jane (9:12am):_ ** _Ok!!! Bring me one if you can!!!!_

* * *

 

_We won!! We won our final game of the season! It was amazing! We're headed to Granny Wolf's right now. Jay and Mal keep sharing these looks...I think they're getting caught up in the moment...we are leaving day after tomorrow so...I guess that makes sense._

_-CDV_

* * *

 

_We survived Chad's final bash of the year and now...we're in a limo, like the one that brought us here, driving away from our new home...On some adventure that we might not survive and...And I'm not sad. I'm not even all that upset. Mal's been fighting back tears and Evie keeps squeezing her hand and kissing her cheek and Jay has his arm wrapped around both of them and...I'm not upset because I'm not leaving my home...--this is gonna sound real cheesy but...I'm not leaving my home because these three are my home._

_Bleck._

_I hope they never read this because I will NEVER live that down._

_Anyway...Audrey's here too. I thought it would be weird having her here but...I think she needs this as much as Evie does. And she's actually pretty cool. I mean, I've always thought she's pretty cool, except for the first month we knew her, but._

_Here we are, a not-so-wicked fairy, a wily and most reformed thief, a beautiful and brilliant princess, a smart little boy whose missing his dog and a regal Auradonian princess headed_ _off on an adventure of a lifetime. Another adventure of a lifetime for the four of us._

_Suddenly, I wanted to take a photo. Of Audrey looking out the limo window with a wistful look on her face, of Jay with his arms out, resting on the backs of the seats behind our heads, of Mal and Evie's hands hopelessly tangled together as they both space off, of Auradon fading in the distance behind us. And I'm reminded again, that people tend to only take photos of moments their afraid will never happen again._

_I don't know if I'll be able to keep this journal updated. So, for now, goodbye._

_-CDV_

 

 


	8. From her mountain throne.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter to tide you guys over while I get the next one all put together! Hope you enjoy a fluffy kind of plotless chapter. Ya know, for the soul. Love you guys and def havent forgotten about you!

The world tilts sideways and Evie's eyes snap open. Her hands, still tangled up with the warm pressure of Mal's, close around Mal's fingers like a vice as the car rocks and skids, tires squealing against asphalt.

 _This is it._ Evie thinks.  _We're gonna die._

 _Maybe it's better this way._ That tiny, annoying voice in the back of Evie's head has a chance to say just before the car straightens out with another screeching of tires, and it's clear they weren't going to crash.

"E." Mal says from next to her, their near accident having woken her as well. "Eves, you're kind of hurting me."

"What--oh, shit! I'm sorry!" Evie quickly releases Mal's fingers, a different kind of panic running down her spine as Mal shook out her hand, trying to regain feeling in her fingertips.

"It's okay." Mal slid her fingers right back into Evie's hands a moment later. "You okay?" 

"Yeah....Yeah, I'm okay." Evie nodded, meeting Mal's eyes slowly. Mal gave her one of those smiles, one of those rare Mal smiles that Evie only got when they were alone, or in this case, when everyone around them was still asleep. "What?" Evie asked when Mal just kept peering at her curiously with those  _damn_ emerald eyes and those long eyelashes of hers.

"What were you dreaming about?" The question suprised Evie, eyebrows shooting up on her forehead as she fixed Mal with a confused look.

"What?" Evie tilted her head, her eyebrows scrunching together.

"You were talking in your sleep. Said my name a few times. What were you dreaming about?" Mal explained, leaning a little closer to Evie, as if they were schoolgirls sharing secrets.

"Uhm...I...I don't know." Evie mumbled, and she didn't even need that voice in her head that sounded like her mother to tell her it wasn't ladylike or becoming of a princess to talk with so little conviction or volume. 

"Liar." Mal said. "You remember your dreams for hours after they happen." She stated, and, not for the first or last time, Evie cursed how well Mal knew her. "Tell me." Mal pushed gently, squeezing Evie's hands.

"It wasn't really that interesting." Evie began, her eyes flickering away from Mal. She took a deep breath that came back out as a long sigh before she continued. "We were on the balcony of Bargain Castle, you, me, Jay and Carlos..." Evie's eyes met Mal's and she swallowed thickly at how interested, truly interested Mal looked. "And we were teasing you about the wings thing..."

"As usual." Mal commented, her voice sounding like it did when she rolled her eyes, but green never strayed from brown.

"Yeah." Evie blushed. She didn't know why, but she blushed. "And to prove us wrong, you stood on the edge of the balcony, up on the ledge, and walked around with yours eyes closed. You said you wouldn't come down til we admitted you didn't have wings. And then...I guess the ledge crumbled a little and you lost your balance and..." Evie turned her head away, embarrassed by the sadness that had seeped into her voice and the tears the pricked at her eyes.

When Mal's fingers curled around her jaw, gently pressing until Evie turned her head to look at her, Evie almost closed her eyes, just to avoid meeting Mal's intense gaze. "That would never happen." Mal reassured, and Evie almost felt like an upset child being consoled after a nightmare, with her chin resting in Mal's hand and Mal looking at her with imploring eyes. "That ledge would never crumble. That building was SUPER well made."

Evie huffed and tugged her jaw out of Mal's grip. "You're making fun of me!" 

"No, I'm not!" Mal feigned shock. "I'm making fun of your subconscious for coming up with such poorly conceived plot lines."

The frown tugging at the corners of Evie's mouth deepened and she turned her head away again.

"I'm joking, Eves!" Mal sighed, dropping her hands into Evie's lap.

"Whatever." Evie murmured lowly, sparing a glance at Audrey, snoring softly with her head against Jay's shoulder. _S_ _leeping Beauty_  is _right._ Evie thought somewhere in the whirlpool that was her thoughts. Jay, with his hat pulled low over his brow and his hands in Carlos' hair, Carlos' head resting on his thigh. They all looked so peaceful. "What time is it?" Evie asked, her eyes shifting over to the tinted windows of the limo.

"4:00pm. We're a few miles from Belle's Harbour."

Evie wrapped her knuckles against the divide between the driver's cabin and them. The black divider rolled down slowly, mechanic whirring accompanying the action and the driver peered at them curiously through his rear view mirror. 

"Pull over at the next place that looks like it has a bathroom and apple chips."

* * *

 

"Oh, hey, Mal." Evie greeted, her voice lower and raspier, slurred by sleep. She rubbed at her eyes, squinting against the grey Isle sunlight pouring in from behind Mal.

"Hey." Mal pushed passed her, into Evie's dimly lit castle home like she lived there. Evie's living room was open and uncrowded, with an enticing yet slightly foreboding feeling to it, not unlike the girl herself. Every piece of furniture was precisely set throughout the room and was either red or blue. Each one looked like at it had been extremely expensive and elegant additions, before moths, blood stains and what looked like a hook mark had turned it into fitting Isle furniture. 

"Okay, come on in, make yourself at home." Evie muttered with a shake of her head and a slow smile as she shut the thick oak door with a resounding  _thunclick!_ that echoed off of the stone walls around them. "What's up?" Evie asked, following Mal's usual course straight to her kitchen. 

"Hm?" Mal raised her eyebrows, chewing up a mouthful of apple. Evie winced. Those were her mother's apples, Evie never got those unless she earned them...

_Hopefully the Queen won't notice one missing._

"You said you couldn't hang out today." A smile tugged the corners of Evie's mouth back up as she watched Mal swallow down another bite of apple with eagerness. She tilted her head when Mal glanced up at her, green eyes bright but full of something Evie couldn't quite name.

"Mom kicked me out." Mal shrugged her shoulders, her eyes flickering away from Evie's quickly. She took another bite of apple, her teeth sinking into the ruby red surface with a crunch as she looked around Evie's kitchen. 

"And you came here rather than the Junk Shop?" Evie raised her eyebrows, reaching forward to wipe a bit of apple juice off of Mal's chin before she could stop herself.

"I can leave if you want." Mal kept her expression entirely neutral, but Evie could just barely see the frown weighing on her lips. Her thumb lingered on Mal's chin before she pulled her hand away.

"No!" Evie said, maybe a little to quickly and Mal's eyes flickered back to hers. "I'm not complaining. Just making sure everything is alright. You don't really tell me things...You know, when you're not alright." She ran a hand through her messy hair, free from it's usual V-braid, falling around Evie's face in pretty blue waves.  _Smooth. Evie, real smooth._

"I'm okay." Mal insisted, tossing the core of the apple into the compost bin sitting next to the cracked window a few feet from them. "I just wanted to see you." 

Mal's expression briefly faltered and Evie could feel her heart start to beat faster in her chest. Mal barely ever said things like that without slathering them in sarcasm or saying them a with hearty indifference, like _"I just wanted to make sure you hadn't gotten yourself mugged and killed since the last time I saw you."_ or _"I had nothing better to do and everyone else was busy."_

"Anyway." Mal turned away from Evie. "I also need to ask you for a favor."

_A favor from me? That Jay or Carlos couldn't do?_

"Oh?" Evie raised her eyebrows, watching the back of Mal's head as she wandered back toward the living room. Evie followed, hands linked behind her back to keep herself from fidgeting. 

"Yeah." Mal turned around in the doorway between the large hall that led toward Evie's bedroom and the living room. "I...uhm..." Mal chewed on her bottom lip like she always did when she was trying to get her words in order. "I need a haircut." She said finally, going with blunt and straight forward as always. She gestured around her head, wavy tendrils of purple reaching further down her shoulders than Mal usually allowed it. Evie had noticed how long it had been getting, but she hadn't commented. She liked it, liked how it made Mal look a little softer.  _That's probably why she wants it shorter again._

"And you want me to do it?" Evie asked, surprise slipping into her tone. Mal avoided her gaze as she nodded, rubbing at the back of her neck. "Okay!" Evie's grin practically reflected non-exsistant sunlight as she beamed at the side of Mal's face. She resisted the urge to bounce on the balls of her feet or throw herself into Mal's arms. 

"Don't get too excited. I would do it myself...but the mirror in my room was shattered this morning so..." Mal rolled her eyes in that way she did when she was frustrated about something. Evie's smile faded a little, but as soon as she opened her mouth to ask the question hanging in the air, Mal shot her a look. 

"Okay." Evie held out her hand. Mal looked at it for a moment, contemplating her options.

Could she still appear aloof and indifferent while letting Evie hold her hand? _Maybe_.

"Come on." She said once Mal's hand was clasped in her own, the leather of her gloves scraping against Evie's soft palm as she tugged her down the dark hall.

-*-

"Stay still!" Evie growled. Her fingers curled around Mal's chin and tilted it back up to where she needed it. Mal grumbled something under her breath, no doubt full of expletives, but kept her head in place.

Evie, perched picturesquely on the ledge of her bathtub, smiled and continued trimming off flurries of purple from the hair brushing the back of Mal's pale neck. Mal's back rested against one of Evie's knees, bare of her usual stockings, and the cold sloping side of the bathtub.

Mal was impressed with the sheer size of the bathtub and the fact it seemed to be fully functional. She didn't _mind_ how the entire room smelled like Evie's shampoos and perfumes either, drowning out the sort of dank scent the rest of the old drafty castle had. 

"Are you done yet?" Mal whined as more hair peppered the back of her neck and stuck to the collar of her lace shirt. Her jacket had been long discarded, hanging on the handle of the bathroom door and her shoes were sitting next to the sink a few feet from it. Evie's sleeping robe and slippers were placed neatly on the chipped marble counter, folded and immaculate, of course.

"Almost." Evie reassured. The sound of hair being snipped between the (slightly dull) blades of Evie's scissors filled the next few minutes of time, more strands of hair falling into the bottom of the tub around Mal's lap.

"Done." Evie breathed, setting the scissors down on the ledge next to her. Mal almost shivered at the feeling of her cold fingers grazing along her neck and shoulders, brushing loose hair away. Her jaw flexed as Evie took the opportunity to run her fingers through Mal's hair, making sure she hadn't missed any errant strands of purple, _of course_.

"Evie, mirror me." Mal said, holding her hand out. The sensation of Evie's fingers brushing through her hair had become a little _too_ nice and she just couldnt have herself melting in the girl's lap right now. A hand mirror was quickly placed into her waiting fingers, heavy and cold. She held it out at arms length, peering at her reflection. She turned her head from side to side, seeing Evie had left the strands in front longer, the way Mal liked and then nodded. "Not awful." She said. Mal tilted the mirror up to look at Evie, who siled widely at her. Evie knew that was the closest thing to glowing praise from Mal as she was going to get and she'd take it.

-*-

"Ugh, this is really itchy." Mal groaned, brushing more hair off of the back of her neck and the collar of her shirt. 

"How about I lend you a different shirt." Evie offered. She disappeared from the bathroom before Mal could even open her mouth to reply.

"Would this work?" Evie's voice asked a few moments later, appearing in the doorway with something dark in her hand. "It's the closest thing I have to purple." Evie held up the indigo fabric, which, upon closer inspection, appeared to be a sweater with leather elbow patches and a leather pocket on the front. Despite the accents of leather, it was certifiably not Mal's style. Maybe with a few more tears, maybe an addition of some studs and a dragon etched into the pocket, maybe some safety pins here and there, sure, but not like this. It was just too clean. Mal crinkled up her nose at it, but Evie either missed the expression or ignored it, because the next thing she said was: "Take your shirt off."

"What?" Mal questioned, her eyebrows shooting up on her forehead almost comically.

"Take your shirt off?" Evie repeated, looking at her like it was odd she hadn't heard her clearly. 

"Right now?" Mal asked. She would have slapped a hand against her forehead at how stupid that sounded if Evie weren't still staring at her.

"Yes?" Evie's eyebrows pressed together and she tilted her head, her hair falling over her shoulder in a curtain of waves of blue.

_Fuck._

"At least buy me dinner first." Mal joked before she could stop herself. Evie's expression cracked into a smile, widening when she spied the blush blooming across Mal's pale cheeks.

"Don't tell me you're shy, Mal." Evie's smile turned into a smirk and Mal felt indignanty rise in her chest. Mal knew Evie was just trying to frustrate her until she did what she wanted, but  _goddamit it's working._

Mal stood up, her jaw clenched as she reached down and tugged her shirt off over her head. She tossed the lace fabric away from her dramatically and immediately crossed her arms over her chest with a huff. "There, happy?" Mal growled.

"Yes?" Evie grinned. Despite her best efforts, her eyes wandered downward and--

"Hey, eyes up here." Mal's voice sounded lighter, less annoyed and more...something else. But Evie's eyes were locked onto a stretch of Mal's pale skin above her left hipbone. Mal snapped her fingers, trying to get Evie attention. Evie's eyes flickered back up, meeting Mal's.

"What happened?" She asked before Mal could throw in another joke. Mal's eyebrows scrunched for a second before she looked down at herself. 

"Oh..." She said, catching her lower lip between her teeth at the sight of the long, red slash disrupting the flow of her pallid skin. It started below the waistband of her pants and curled up and over her hipbone in a harsh, jagged line. It wouldn't have looked so bad, really it wasn't much more than a glorified scratch, but the bruise blooming around it made it look rather grotesque.

"I got into...uhm...a fight with Clay Clayton." Mal mumbled, chewing on the inside of her cheek. "After what he said to you...I don't know, I couldn't let it go." Mal looked up at Evie. "Jay and I tried to ambush him in the alley behind the market but he threw me through a fence before Jay could pin him down."

Evie's face warped into an expression Mal didn't recognize. She almost skittered backwards when Evie suddenly took a few long strides into her personal space. "That was so fucking stupid." She growled harshly as she shoved the sweater into Mal's arms. "You two are so fucking stupid!" Evie's palm impacted into Mal's shoulder, once, twice, and then a third time, harder each time until the back of Mal's knees hit the ledge behind her, forcing her to sit down. 

Mal didn't know how to react. Evie had never gotten so openly upset with her, never been so physically rough. Sitting on the chipped marble ledge with her sweater and hands in her lap and Evie scowling down at her suddenly made her feel like a child being scolded. 

"I...I'm sorry?" Mal tried. The fact that if anyone else touched her like that, talked to her like that she would have slipped a blade between their ribs wasn't lost on either of the girl's as they stared at each other.

But, Mal couldn't even muster up any frustration with Evie for her anger. 

"No you're not! I told you it was fine! It didn't matter!" Evie continued, her cheeks flushing red as she ranted. "I don't care about Clay Clayton! Not as much as I care about Jay and...and you." Evie's voice tapered off and she looked down at Mal's knees.

Mal stared at her, eyebrows pressing together as she watched Evie unruffle, the angry tension in her shoulders slowly disappearing. 

"I'm sorry." Mal said again, grabbing Evie's fists until they relaxed and she could slide her hands into hers. "I'm sorry." She murmured again as she tried to lean into Evie's line of sight. She felt Evie's sigh more than she heard it. Evie reclaimed one of her hands from Mal's only to run her finger through Mal's hair, her fingernails scraping along Mal's scalp. 

"You're not sorry. You'd do it again. I think it's physically impossible for you to be sorry." Evie said, voice barely above a whisper. Mal nodded, her eyes wandering over the fabric of Evie's light sleeping shirt.

After a few moments, Evie's laughter caused Mal to lift her head and peer up at Mal curiously. "I'm gonna kick Jay's ass." Evie replied to Mal's unspoken question. "He's not gonna expect it, but I'm gonna kick his ass."

"I hope he cries." Mal smiled up at her.

* * *

Evie barely sidestepped the man barreling out of the little diner, cartoonish steam lines practically radiating off of him as he growled what Evie was going to pretend was an apology and continued his storm off. Evie shook her head and slipped past the door before it closed completely behind him.

She took two whole steps into the warm diner before her boots came to an abrupt stop and her breath caught in her throat.

She was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. She was perched on the counter, resting her chin in her hand, sea shell shaped sunglasses resting on top of her head, pushing some of her dark hair back and out of her face. Her red polished fingernails tapped lightly on her high cheekbone as if she were impatiently waiting on someone to return and let her go to whatever shopping spree or party out in the woods she seemed fit and ready for.

She had yet to notice Evie and Evie probably would have felt kind of creepy for just watching her if she weren't too busy just watching her.

The girl moved, lifted her jaw from her hand and glanced up at the clock behind the counter. A frustrated breath puffed out between her shimmering lips and she turned back, throwing her hair over her shoulder as she did. The dark wavy tendrils of hair stood out against the light pink faux fur coat draped over her shoulders and the white lace dress peeking out from beneath.

 _Noted._ Evie thought, somewhere in her head.

The bell above the door dinged. "Okay, well, I couldn't find any of those dried apple chips you like but I did find some chocolate with apple chunks in it so...woah, who's that?" Carlos' boots scuffed against the ground as he came to a stop next to Evie, just a few feet in front of the door. 

The girl turned her head to look at them with wide copper colored eyes. "Oh! There you are!" Her glossed lips stretched into a smile as she hopped off the bar, her high heeled boots tapping against the floor as she stepped toward them.

"Aphrodite." Carlos greeted. Evie turned to him, eyebrows raised. "She's wearing seashell glasses! I did my homework." He explained as if it were so obvious.

"You can just call me Ro." Aphrodite--Ro said, her voice sounding much like how stepping into the ocean felt. She extended her hand out to them, her many rings glinting in the light cast by the neon sign proclaiming that "It's five o'clock somewhere!" behind the bar of the diner.

"Evie. This is Carlos." Evie said, taking her hand lightly and shaking it a few times, a little carefully, as if she were afraid to do it too forcefully. "You were waiting for us?"

"Well, not really." Ro let her hand linger in Evie's for a moment before letting go, withdrawing her hand to rest on her hip. "I'm waiting for my husband to stop tinkering with the mortal mechanic next door, but as the fates would have it, you ended up here too. They told me just a little while ago." She smiled, her teeth blindingly white, like pearls.

"As the fates would have it." Carlos muttered with a laugh next to Evie.

"But it is rather fortunate that you ended up here, babes." Ro slipped her hand into the pocket of her jacket, feeling around for a moment before fishing out something metal. "Here is a token, from me to you. A sort of good luck charm, I guess." She flashed another blinding smile as she held out her fist. A necklace dropped when she uncurled her fingers, dangling from her index in front of their faces. A locket, shaped like a seashell, hung from the golden chain, catching the light.

Both Carlos and Evie felt their fingers burn and twitch with an urge they hadn't felt in a long time. The urge to steal. Evie suddenly understood all the stories where foolish mortals took something from a god, risking the almost inevitable punishment that would be dealt their way. She didn't have to worry though, because her inaction prompted Ro to take another few steps forward and slide the long chain over her head for her. She carefully lifted Evie's hair out of the necklace and let it fall back down around her shoulders. Up close, Ro was even more strikingly beautiful, all tan skin and freckles and shimmering dark eyes you could get lost in.

_Paris was a fucking idiot._

"That looks cute with your outfit." Ro said appraisingly, nodding to her own words. This close, Evie could smell the lavender and rose that must have been her perfume, and see the slight sparkles that seemed to glimmer wherever the light touched her skin. 

_If all gods are like this, I'm fucked._

"Anway, this should keep you a little safer on your journey and it's super fashionable." Ro stepped back. "And it repays the debt I owed your father." 

"You knew my father?" Evie asked, suddenly snapping out of whatever stupor Ro's proximity put her in.

"Of course." Ro's smile turned a little nostalgic, as if she were recalling favorable memories from her youth, though she looked barely a day past her 18th birthday. "And your mother. She used to be...nicer."

"And less crazy." Carlos commented.

"No, not really." Ro deadpanned. She kept eye contact with Carlos until they both cracked into laughter. "She let that mirror tell her she wasn't beautiful. Wouldn't even take my word when I said she was. Cursed thing." She said lowly once she'd recovered. Her eyes seemed to get darker, something about her features becoming more _dangerous_.

"Ro." A low voice called.

Ro's eyes lifted and her face turned light and airy again, like a fresh breeze on a beach as she peered past Evie and Carlos' heads.

Evie and Carlos turned in unison to see a man with sweat on his brow and grease staining his fingers standing in the doorway. He was a large man, 6'3 easily, with a wide nose, a crease in his brow  that made him look sort of angry in that handsome kind of way, and a square jaw obscured by his dark ginger beard. His eyebrows were thick and his eyes were large and focused beneath them, like a predator peering out from a dark wood.

If Aphrodite's eyes were like copper, this man's were like rust, glancing over the three of them. The man's hair was long and slicked back, cut a little shorter on the sides, and varying shades of dark throughout. Evie's eyes lingered maybe too long on the gnarled white burn scars on his left ear, disappearing under his sideburns before reappearing on the edge of his cheekbone and next to his eyebrow. It almost seemed ironic that he was chewing on a burnt out match stick, bobbing between his chapped lips.

"Honey." Ro slipped between Carlos and Evie, a breeze of lavender and roses and salt water, and entered her husband's embrace. The man stumbled a little bit, bracing a hand against the doorway behind him. "Oh, sorry." Ro quickly apologized, looking up at him. Carlos had already been eyeing his leg, now noticing the shapes beneath his denim pants.

 _A brace of some sort probably_. He thought.

"Honey, this is Evie and her friend Carlos." Ro gestured at them. "Persie and Dion's latest obsession."

"Hm." The man, whom Evie had put together was Hephaestus all on her own, thank you very much, Carlos, grunted. "Interesting hair." He flicked a thick finger in the direction of their heads.

"I know, right?" Aphrodite grinned. "Aren't they adorable?" Hephaestus grumbled something and Ro raised an eyebrows. "I mean, I guess." Hephaestus grumbled something again, his mustache moving as he spoke lowly, like an engine rumbling. "Oh, yeah, Of course, of course. You're right, sweetie." 

"This must be how people feel around us." Carlos leaned over and murmured to Evie. 

"You are way too calm about being around to gods right now." Evie whispered back harshly. Carlos just grinned at her. They both straightened up when Ro and Hephaestus returned their attentions to them.

"Farewell, young ones." Hephaestus' voice boomed as he gave them a friendly smile, a quick flash of uneven teeth.

"Be careful, little pup," Ro reached out and ruffled Carlos' hair. "And you, little princess." Her hand drifted over and stroked Evie's cheek. Admittedly, both of them melted a bit, almost leaning into the touches before they had their wits about them again.

Hephaestus gave them a knowing look from over Aphrodite's head, his lips curling into a knowing smile. Ro waved and then turned back to her husband, holding her hand out for his. 

Evie, as foolish as it seemed now, had expected them to just ascend through the ceiling or be gone in a poof of flower and gasoline scented smoke. Instead, they just opened the front door of the diner, the bell dinging above their heads, and walked out into the cool night air. A few moments later, they heard an engine rumble to life and gravel crunching beneath tires and just like that, they were gone. Then, everything was silent again, save for the crickets chirping and the quite hum of the refridgerators cooling 50 cent sodas.

"Well, that was weird."

Evie frowned.

"Where are Jay and Mal?" Evie asked after a moment, her fingers curling around the pendant hanging from her neck. She could almost feel it pulse with energy.

"Some angry asshole revved his motorcycle really loudly and sped off past the limo." Carlos explained. "It woke up Mal. So her and Jay decided to go for a walk."

"Where's Audrey?" 

"She went down the road a little ways in search of cell service."

"Of course."

"Yeah, I don't think these chumps have ever seen a horrror movie."

-*-

"Mal! Jay!" Evie called, her voice bouncing off of the tall trees surrounding them. Her flashlight swept across the woods in front of them, looking for any sign of their companions.

"Jay! I'm gonna eat all the candy if you don't come back here soon enough!" Carlos called, shaking the muslin bag, making the candies inside rattle and the wrappers crinkle.

"Mal! Please don't be dead! Kind of need you alive!" Evie called. "Jay! You too!" 

"Maybe I was wrong." Carlos stopped with a frustrated huff. "Maybe they went the other way."

"No, remember, we saw their tracks in the mud next to that huge tree way back." Evie said. "They had to have come this way."

"Well, there's no way they can't hear us! And these woods aren't even that big!" Carlos said, running a hand through his hair.

"We'll find them." Evie assured. "Come on."

They continued in silence for a few more feet, careful to mark trees and memorize landmarks so they could find their way back out. Evie was peeling a few peices of bark off of a tree in the rough shape of an arrow pointing back toward the diner, with the pocket knife Lonnie had given her, when Carlos heard it.

"Did you hear that?" He whispered.

"Hear what?" Evie asked, full volume. 

"Shh! Shhh!" He shushed her and then put a hand next to his ear. Evie, eyebrows scrunched a little in concentration, tried to listen to. A few moments passed and just as she opened her mouth to tell Carlos he must be hearing things, she heard it. Laughter. It wasn't Mal's breathy giggle or Jay's mirthful staccato followed by deep inhales. It was something lighter and different and it raised the hairs on Evie's arms. She'd come to learn this was her body's warning system when something unusual was nearby. Her Spidey-Sense, of sorts.

"Come on!" Evie whispered at Carlos before crouching down and half sprinting toward the source of the sound, weaving behind trees as she went. 

"Evie! Evie, wait!" Carlos whispered loudly after her. He slammed his hand into the ground and looked between Evie as she got further and further away from him and the diner. "Ah, fuck it." He said, standing up and following after her, not bothering to hide behind trees or crouch down as he went like Evie. 

Evie's flashlight shut off suddenly and Carlos relied only on the moonlight filtering in through the canopy above to find Evie. She was crouched behind fallen tree, her fingers clinging to the moss as she peered over the trunk at something up ahead. Carlos sat down next to her, peering over his shoulder at whatever she was looking at.

Jay, the moon sparkling off of his silky hair, and Mal, her back turned to them, were kneeling next to a little lagoon. The water was a black rithing mass except for the places where the moon glinted off of it and emerging from the liquid darkness were at least five pale, long haired girls. Lily Pads and fish floated around their bodies that seemed to almost glow in the darkness, as they all gathered around the edge of the lagoon where Mal and Jay knelt. On of the girls, the tallest one, with bright red hair falling down her shoulders and curling around her body in the waters, was holding on to Jay's bicep, her other hand reaching up to touch his cheek. Mal was no less enraptured, leaning so close to the edge Evie was afraid she'd fall in. One of the girls was holding something up in front of Mal, giggling and teasing Mal with it. Mal didn't look annoyed. She kind of looked amused.

"Oh, come on and give it back!" Mal laughed, her voice full of fondness. "I need that."

"Come in and get it." The girl replied, shaking whatever it was in front of Mal's face. Her voice sounded like waves lapping against the side of a boat and it put Evie on edge, made her fingers twitch around her knife's handle.

"What are they doing?" Carlos whispered, squinting to try and make out what was in the girl's hand.

"Those are nymphs." Evie said. Carlos turned to look at her, suprised. "What? I did some research too! Nymphs are common in Auradon." 

"Oh, good, I thought our friends had stumbled upon a nudist colony and decided to stay and chat." Carlos joked.

"Nymphs are known for seducing wayward travellers...and killing them." When Carlos turned his head to look at her this time she was looking at the blade of her knife, testing the weight of it in her hand. 

"Evie, do you really think going in their knives ablazin is a good idea?" Carlos put a hand on her shoulder. 

"If we don't, they could get hurt." She said it so resolutely, Carlos wasn't sure if he could argue.

She was crawling closer to Mal and Jay before he could even think of anything to say. She blended into the darkness of the woods well, Carlos would give her that, but as a twig snapped beneath her body weight, Carlos knew they were in trouble.

All of the nymph's heads turned toward the source of the sound in perfect unison, sending fear shooting through Evie as all of their eyes zeroed in on her. She stood, knife gripped in her fingers and stared back at them. Carlos looked between the small lagoon and Evie, feeling as though he were a bystander staring on at a standoff in an old west movie.

"Evie?" Mal's voice rang out, confused. 


End file.
